Nigeria’s D’Tigers put up another masterful display yesterday as they dismantled Tunisia who are the reigning champions and hosts of the 2025 AfroBasket, 87-66 to remain firmly on course for a quarter-final berth.
As expected, NBA star, Josh Okogie, lit the Pavilhao Multusos de Luanda arena up and helped Nigeria to a convincing win with a 33-point contribution.
Okogie scored from 12/19 attempts, and he was 6/6 from the free-throw line.
Tunisia’s Omar Abada and Yacine Toumi scored 13 points each, but it was in vain as the Carthage Eagles nose-dived to a 0-2 record in the group.
The D’Tigers raced to a 10-0 lead with 3s from Caleb Agada and Ike Nwamu. Talib Zanna and Kaodirichi Akonbundu got buckets in the paint, which forced coach Mehdi Mary to call a time-out three-and-a-half minutes into the game.
Nigeria played with confidence, and Okogie exhibited that with his 10 points, which came from 4/5 attempts, and his team went into the quarter with a 29-16 lead.
In the second quarter, Okogie caught fire, leading Nigeria in scoring with nine points, which included a pair of free throws and a three-pointer from a metre from the arc for the 38-19 lead.
Tunisia could not match their opponents’ energy, as their attempts to close the gap were met by a stifling D’Tigers defence.
With two minutes to play in the quarter, Agada made his shots count at the free throw line for the 48 27 lead, but Tunisia would hit the 30-point mark with a Bilel Jeziri three-pointer, and a Jawadi drive to the bucket saw him get tripped by, and as he fell, his circus shot landed.
Jawadi completed his and one play at the charity stripe for the 48-33 scoreline.
Nigeria had all the answers in the third quarter, building a 20-point (63-43) lead, with four minutes left. Okogie added 12 to his tally with incisive drives to the hoop, a three-pointer and a couple of free throws. D’Tigers remained on top with a 68-47 lead.
Although Tunisia ensured the final quarter was stalemated 19-19, D’Tigers still romped to an emphatic 87-66 victory as they now wait for their final group match against Cameroon on Sunday.
Speaking after the victory, D’Tigers’ forward, Devine Eke said: “We feel good (about the win). The job is not done, but I feel we can win this whole thing.
“We feel really good. We executed well. We followed our coach’s game plan. Everyone played their role, and if everyone continues to do that, anything is possible.”
