Nigeria D’Tigers ended Guinea’s unbeaten run with an 80–79 victory in their Group C 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Luanda, Angola, to advance to the second round, www.aclsports.com reports.
D’Tigers, under new coach David Fizdale, came into the fixture on the back of a hard-earned 84–81 victory over Tunisia on Thursday after suffering two defeats during the previous qualifying window. The team demonstrated their fighting spirit by recovering from a six-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to defeat Guinea by a single point, sealing Nigeria’s place in the second round alongside the Guineans.
Nigeria started strongly, taking early control of the game and leading 23–17 after the first quarter. The second quarter was evenly contested, ending 23–23, as D’Tigers went into the break with a 46–40 lead.
However, Guinea who arrived with a perfect 4–0 record, responded strongly after the restart, raising the intensity on both ends of the floor and disrupting Nigeria’s rhythm.
After trailing throughout the first half, Guinea finally seized control when Sekou Doumbouya converted to put them 49–48 ahead. The momentum continued to swing in Guinea’s favour, with Shannon striking a buzzer-beating three-pointer to hand the West Africans a 68–62 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
With Guinea holding a narrow lead, Uche Iroegbu drove into the paint and found Chimezie Metu in position to convert the decisive basket. Guinea were left with three seconds to respond, but Nigeria held firm to seal the win.
The result improves D’Tigers’ record to 3–2 with one game remaining, while Guinea suffered their first defeat of the current campaign, dropping to 4–1.
Caleb Agada delivered an all-round performance for Nigeria, leading with 22 points, three rebounds and four steals, while Uche Iroegbu and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu also reached double figures, contributing 10 and 14 points respectively.
Nigeria assistant coach David Vanterpool praised his team’s effort, saying:
“They were able to fight together, fight through frustration; they were able to stand up to a good Guinea team, coming back, taking an eleven-point lead and still getting off the floor to get the win. I give a lot of credit to our guys; they showed so much heart, resilience, determination and togetherness.”
“Our goal was to come here and win three games. The job is not done, we still have a lot of work to do. We are going back to the drawing board to continue preparing this team,” Vanterpool added.
D’Tigers will conclude their Group C campaign against Rwanda on Sunday, 5 July.
