The journey of Nigeria senior men’s basketball team have to an end after suffering a narrow loss against 2019 champions, Democratic Republic of Congo.
The D’Tigers started the first quarter of the game slowly as they struggled to make their shots count which resulted to just 36% field goals while while the Congolese recorded an impressive 76% from their field goals.
The Congolese were very impressive from the three-point line as they registered 62% while Nigeria scored 25% from their attempts as they won the opening quarter 31-19.
However. coach Ogoh Oduadu’s men posted a better performance in the second quarter as they outscored the former Afrocan champions. The D’Tigers made 57% of their 2-points attempts while the Congolese managed just 37% as it ended 18-14 in favour of Nigeria. However, the Democratic Republic of Congo won the first 44-37.
The D’Tigers became more resolute and resilient in the third quarter as they outscored the Congolese from points made in the paint. However, Nigeria struggled to make points from the three points line as they only scored 1 from 7 attempts.
The Congolese also had their woes from the 3-points line. They only managed to score 1 from from 9 attempts in the third quarter.
Nigeria’s spirited performance continued in the last quarter of the game as they took the lead. 67-64 for the first time in the game with less than 4 minutes to go. But Ogoh Oduadu’s men let their guards down as they suffered a narrow loss to the Congolese despite wining the last quarter 18-15.
Kanyisola Joseph Odufuwa was the most impressive player for the D’Tigers as recorded 25 points and 5 rebounds while DR Congo’s Evariste Shonganya scored the most points for his side with 20. He made 5 rebounds and provided 9 assists in the game.
The match ended 74-72 in favour of the Democratic Republic of Congo who progress to the semi-finals of the competition.
