D’TIGERS of Nigeria defied shoddy preparation and late arrival to take Libya to overtime before losing 89-82 in their opening game at the FIBA Men’s AfroBasket qualifiers first window in Monastir, Tunisia last night (Friday night).
The 2015 AfroBasket champions only arrived in Tunisia hours before their opening game, after the funds were finally raised for their trip.
D’Tigers had initially announced their withdrawal from the competition due to a lack of funds, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics stars previously committed to featuring could not make it when last-minute money was raised by the Nigeria Basketball Federation.
The team travelled with a hastily assembled roster for the competition and played their first game barely hours after arriving in Monastir, against a Libya team that had played two warm-up games.
The disruptions to D’Tigers’ plans proved costly, affecting them at the beginning of the game and in overtime.
Libya made the first 13 points of the game and led an unsettled D’Tigers side 25-16 at the end of the first quarter.
D’Tigers settled into the game better in the second quarter and cut the deficit to five points, going into half-time at 40-35.
Libya stretched their lead back to 10 points at the end of the third quarter but the Nigerians had a huge fourth quarter, tying the game at 75-75 to take it to overtime.
The late travelling and arrival apparently caught up with the exhausted D’Tigers in overtime as they were overrun 14-7 and Libya ran out with a seven-point victory.
Mike Nuga was the standout player for D’Tigers with his game-high 31 points, while Bright Osagie Akhuetie contributed 12 rebounds, and Devine Eke 8 assists.
Mohamed Sadi starred for Libya with 24 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, narrowly missing out on a triple double.
D’Tigers are up against Uganda today for their next game, while Libya face Cape Verde in the evening.
