The D’Tigers’ of Nigeria lost 88-78 in overtime to host nation Tunisia in the first game of the first phase of the qualifiers, as they began their chase for a 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup ticket on the wrong footing.
It is claimed that the D’tigers didn’t have enough time to rehearse, following a difficult trip to Tunisia — arriving just a few hours before their only training session — And the team head coach Mohammed Abdulrahman started Jordan Ogundiran, captain Ike Nwamu, Stan Okoye, Talib Zanna and Chris Obekpa from his 12-man roster of overseas and domestic players.
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The Nigerian Professional Basketball team started on the front foot, going 5–0 up in the opening stages. It was said the ‘super’ Zanna led the charge with a three-pointer, followed by two points from captain Nwamu. The Tunisians, however, levelled and led 8–5 inside five minutes, but Nigeria managed to win the first quarter 15–12.
However, Ogundiran also scored and made it 17–12 on count at the start of the second quarter, but the North African team crawled back into the game, sealing the quarter 23–17 to take a 35–32 lead into the break.
The encounter between the both team’s became tense in the third quarter, with Nigeria trailing for much of the period, but they managed to win it 21–18 and level the game at 53–53.
Notwithstanding, Mohammed Abdulrahman’s boys dominated the fourth quarter and held the lead for most of the 10 minutes, but unfortunately, they let it slip in the closing stages, allowing Omar Abada and Oussama Marnaoui to set Tunisia up for a 73–70 lead before Okoye restored parity with 15 seconds remaining and sent the game into overtime.
Abada, continued to lead Tunisia’s charge in overtime after scoring a game-high 29 points, and their firepower proved too much for the D’Tigers, who surrendered the game 88–78.
