The Nigerian Basketball team recorded their first win at the ongoing qualifying series for the 2027 FIBA World Cup, defeating Rwanda 75-69 after overtime at the Salle Multidisciplinaire de Rades in Tunisia on Sunday night.
Despite heading into the qualifying matches as one of the favorites, D’Tigers suffered back to back defeats in their first two matches, but the win over the Rwandans have put their campaign back on track.
They were defeated 88-78 in their opening clash by host nation Tunisia, before suffering another shock loss to Guinea in their second clash, going down 69-55.
D’Tigers earn hard-fought victory over Rwanda
D’Tigers faced Rwanda on Sunday night knowing that a victory would revive their hopes of reaching the World Championships.
Their poor form continued in the first quarter which ended 21-12 in favor of Rwanda after a slow start by Nigeria.
They improved as the game continued and were back in the lead by the end of the third quarter, taking a 45-36 advantage into the final round.
However, they surrendered the nine point advantage as Rwanda pulled level 61-16 by full time to send the game into overtime.
D’Tigers got off the blocks early in added time and recorded a six-point victory over the Rwandans to seal a first win in three qualifying matches.
The victory leaves them third in group C, behind leaders Guinea and Tunisia, ahead of the remaining windows of the qualifying campaign.
In this article, SportPremi highlights three major talking points from the victory over Rwanda;
1. D’Tigers must work on Consistency
One important thing the D’Tigers must work on before the remaining rounds of qualifying matches is their inconsistency.
Despite being one of the continent’s best teams, they suffered disappointing and shock defeats to Tunisia and Guinea respectively.
Against Rwanda on Sunday, it looked as if different teams turned up at each quarter of the clash. Nigeria started slowly and struggled defensively in the first quarter of the clash.
In the third quarter, they looked very different, bringing more intensity and aggression and turned the game around.
This inconsistency nearly cost them the game again as they dropped their performance in the final quarter before winning the game in overtime.
D’Tigers must work on their energy levels if they are to avoid a shock exit from the qualifying campaign.
2. D’Tigers must begin preparations for next window early
According to reports, the Nigerian team were underprepared for this qualifying window, leading to their poor results.
They only camped for a few days before heading to Tunisia, which must be avoided ahead of the remaining qualifying windows to ensure their qualification.
3. Qualification is very much back on track
D’Tigers hopes of qualifying for the 2027 FIBA World Cup were bleak following consecutive defeats to Tunisia and Guinea.
However, the hard-fought win over Rwanda gave them their first win of the campaign and also revived their hopes of reaching the next round of qualifiers.
They will need their strongest possible rosters for the remaining windows, to record victories and avoid a shock first round qualifying exit.
The first round of qualifiers will resume in July 2026, with Nigeria set to face-off against Tunisia and Guinea, before rounding off their group action against Rwanda in July.
A top-three finish will also seal a spot in the second round of the qualifiers as they continue their push for the showpiece championships in 2027.
