Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, secured a place in the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers after defeating Rwanda 106-62 on Sunday to complete a perfect three-game qualifying window.
The victory saw Nigeria finish the window unbeaten, having also defeated Tunisia and Guinea, marking a strong response under head coach David Fizdale after a difficult start to the qualifying campaign.
Nigeria dominate from start to finish
D’Tigers controlled the contest from the opening quarter and maintained their advantage throughout.
Nigeria led 25-14 after the first quarter before extending the margin to 49-29 at halftime. The team widened the gap further in the third quarter, opening an 80-44 lead, and closed out the game with 26 points in the final period to seal a comprehensive 106-62 victory.
ALSO READ: FIBA WCQ: NSC charges D’Tigers to make Nigeria proud in Angola
Point guard Uche Iroegbu led the Nigerian offence with 17 points and seven assists. Caleb Agada, Ikechukwu Mekowulu and Stan Okoye added 13 points each as D’Tigers displayed balanced scoring at both ends of the floor.
Unbeaten qualifying window
Nigeria opened the qualifying window with an 84-81 victory over Tunisia before edging Guinea 80-79 in a comeback win.
The three consecutive victories completed a significant turnaround for D’Tigers, who entered the window under pressure after winning only one of their first three games in the previous phase of the qualifiers.
Second-round qualification confirmed
Nigeria finished the first round on 10 points, level with Tunisia and Guinea, with the top three teams from each of the four groups progressing to the second round.
The next phase of the African Qualifiers will be played between August 2026 and February 2027.
The remaining 12 teams will be divided into two groups of six, with results from the first round carried over. The top two teams in each group, along with the best third-placed team, will qualify for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar.
