D’Tigers squeeze past South Sudan to qualify for AfroBasket

NIGERIA’S D’Tigers survived a late rally to beat South Sudan 75-70 in their first game of the men’s AfroBasket qualifiers in Monastir, Tunisia on Wednesday.

The win propelled the Nigerian team to the 2021 AfroBasket Championship billed for Rwanda, D’Tigers becoming the first side to qualify for the African tournament.

Having earlier defeated the South Sudanese rookies by 20 points in the second window of the qualifiers in November, the Nigerians had a tougher time of it on Wednesday.

D’Tigers raced through the first quarter, taking an 18-9 lead but South Sudan fought back to take the second quarter 21-20, leaving the score 38-30 at half-time.

The Nigerians increased their lead by one point in the third quarter with a 19-18 score.

However, South Sudan cut into Nigeria’s advantage, winning the final quarter 22-18.

D’Tigers held on for the win, with Ike Iroegbu leading them in key statistics with 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds.

South Sudan’s Nuni Omot had a game-high 27 points, while Nyang Wek contributed eight assists.