Nigeria Defeat Mali 62-56 At FIBA AfroCan

Nigeria defeated Mali 62-56 in their opening game at the 2023 FIBA AfroCan on Sunday in Pavilho Multiusos de Luanda, Angola.

D’Tigers were eliminated from the FIBA Africa Zone 2 and Zone 3 qualification last week in Abidjan after losing to the host Ivory Coast 74-65 in their final game. In the second round of qualification, they handily defeated Benin Republic with a score of 78-51 after falling to Guinea 65-62 in the first game.

However, Nigeria received the final wildcard from FIBA due to their second-place qualification finish.

But on Sunday at the event proper, the team won the first session 20-9 after taking an early advantage and holding onto it.

At the start of the second quarter, they became a bit complacent, which allowed Mali to go on a 7-0 run and cut the lead to four points.

The 2021 AfroBasket champions D’Tigers took up the slack in the second quarter, scoring 10 points to help them win the first half 30-22.

The final period of the game saw Nigeria improve, scoring baskets and maintaining their lead as the quarter came to a 48-39 end.

In the fourth quarter, the Malians forced the Nigerians to commit a turnover because they were more tenacious. And the D’Tigers nearly blew a 10-point advantage when the score was 60-53 with 44 seconds left.

The squad was successful in maintaining their advantage, as seen by the game’s 62-56 final score.

Nigeria won on Sunday, breaking their previous mark from the 2019 FIBA AfroCan, where they played three games and lost them all.

On Monday (today), the second game between the D’Tigers and the hosts, Angola, will take place at the Pavilhao Multiusos de Luanda.

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