Nigeria has made it to semi finals of the 2017 Afrobasket following a 106-91 points victory over Cameroon on Thursday in Tunisia.
Ike Diogu led three other D’Tigers on double figures. Diogu had 28 points and 9 rebounds , Ike Nwamu added 25 points and 4 rebounds, Bryant Mbamalu scored 22 points while Adedeji Akindele added 13 points and 5 rebounds.
It was a remarkable performance from the D’Tigers who had to overcome a resilient Cameroon side in the first three quarters of the game. At the end of the third quarter, D’Tigers had a five point lead going into the last quarter (75-70).
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Akindele was in impressive form on the day, proving too difficult for the Cameroonians at both ends of the court. He made 6 of 6 of all his field goals and 1/1 from the free throw line.
The two sides traded baskets from the arc at different moments. Diogu made 5 of 6 from the arc, Nwamu also had an impressive game from the 3-point line, he made 7/9 while Mbamalu also had his own share from the arc, 3 of 5. In total, Nigeria made 16/26 from the 3- point line and 16/24 from the free throw line while Cameroon made 14/ 35 from the arc.
Daniel Ochefu also had a role to play helping out on the defense. He scored 8 points and 10 rebounds to go with it.
For Cameroon, Ben Mbala was a hard nut to crack for the D’Tigers on the offense, ended up with a double-double in the game. He finished with 32 points and 10 rebounds.
Three other players scored double figures for Cameroon. Felix Bogmis with 25 points and 3 rebounds ,Arnaud Adala Moto had 20 points and 7 rebounds while Robert Songolo Ngijol added 12 points and 4 rebounds.
Cameroon fought hard to get back into the game raining 3s in the last quarter. Bogmis made 7/15 while Ngijol made 3/5 from the arc. In total, Cameroon scored 14 of 35 from the 3 point line.
With less than 35 seconds remaining on the clock, Cameroon made back to back 3s but it was too late to save the day for the Central Africans.
Nigeria will take on the winner between Senegal and Angola in the semi finals on Friday.
