The Nigeria men’s basketball team, D’Tigers Coach Ogoh Odaudu, has bemoaned the team’s failure to qualify for the FIBA World Cup.
D’Tigers lost 65-59 to Angola in their last FIBA World Cup African qualifiers fixture on Sunday and will not be among the five teams that will represent Africa at the FIBA World Cup later this year.
The flagship event is billed to be jointly hosted by multiple nations in Asia; the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia, from 25 August to 10 September 2023.
“It’s too bad that we did not make it to the World Cup but I think we put up a good fight and we can say we are proud of ourselves,” he said.
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D’Tigers fell to Angola in their first encounter in August 2022, and after getting off to a slow start and dropping the first quarter, 18-15, it appeared that they would lose again.
The Angolans strengthened their lead in the second quarter, winning 18-14 to take a seven-point edge into the half.
The D’Tigers looked helpless as they slipped farther behind, 19-9, as Angola took a 17-point advantage into the fourth quarter.
Despite Coach Odaudu’s tactical tweaks resulted in D’Tigers closing strong with an 11-point cushion in the fourth quarter, the 21-10 score line was insufficient to help them achieve the desired victory.
