D’Tigers have started their 2020 Tokyo Olympics campaign on a shaky note after they were beaten 84-67 by Australia in their opening group B match played yesterday at the Saitama Arena in Tokyo.
Although they suffered back-to-back losses, the gap was not as wide as when both nations met recently in a friendly in Las Vegas, USA.
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In the pre-Olympics match, D’Tigers were completely blown away as they lost 108-69, making a difference of 39 points but in yesterday’s match, there was a slight improvement as the difference dropped to only 17points.
The first two quarters were keenly contested but poor shooting was D’Tigers major’s setback as they only managed to successfully execute 13 of their 24 attempts.
However, both teams were tied 23 points apiece at the end of the first quarter, and were still tied at 34 points apiece with just under four minutes left in the second quarter but inability to convert free throws paved the way for Australia to go into the half-time break three points ahead, 43-40.
The third quarter, however, ended 58-52 in favour of the Aussies, but the low-scoring 27-point quarter was probably due to a five-minute pause in action caused by an issue with the stop clock.
Propelled by highly experienced NBA super star, Patty Mills, the Aussies finally pulled away in the final quarter 26-15 to go top of the table with 84-67 victory.
Despite the loss, Obi Emegano and Jordan Nwora lived up to their rating as they contributed 12 and 10 points respectively to D’Tiger’s 67 points.
D’Tigers will face Germany in their second group B match on Wednesday, July 28.
