Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress exerted their revenge over Egypt courtesy of a 66-51 win in the quarterfinals of the ongoing FIBA U18 women’s Afrobasket Championship inside the University of Pretoria’s Rembrandt Hall in South Africa on Wednesday.
The Junior D’Tigress defeated the two-time champions and last edition’s silver medallists to reach the semifinals of the tournament for the first time in 14 years.
The young Nigerian ladies, who were initially beaten 72-60 by the Egyptians in their opening game, looked in inspired form as they won three of the available four quarters of the game.
The Junior D’Tigress headed into the halftime break with a healthy 14-point lead, having won the first two quarters 37-23. The third was no different, as they won 17-13, and although Egypt won the final round 15-12, most of the damage from the Nigerian side had been done in the earlier stages.
Juliana Negedu’s side was led by Abigail Isaac, who finished with a game-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. The duo of Momoluwa Tewogbade and Idubamo Beggi finished with 13 points apiece, while Hanimatu Ayodeji added eight points and grabbed seven boards.
For the Egyptians, Khadiga Abouelghait ended with a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds, while Haya Alhalawany (10) and Jude Alaaeldin (11) combined for 21 points.
The Junior D’Tigress will now face Uganda in the semifinals after the East Africans defeated another North African powerhouse, Tunisia, 69-53 in their own quarterfinal fixture.
Meanwhile, in the other games, Cameroon defeated Angola 65-63 to set up a last-four encounter with Mali, who recorded an 86-57 blowout win over Rwanda.
