Nigeria’s Under-18 men’s national team, the Junior D’Tigers, fell short in their opening FIBA U18 AfroBasket game against reigning champions Egypt at the University of Pretoria’s Rembrandt Hall in South Africa on Wednesday.
The Nigerian youngsters, who faced some difficulties in obtaining visas to South Africa and only arrived the host nation hours to tipoff, suffered a 70-57 defeat to the Egyptians in their Group B battle.
Egypt’s Mohammed Hussin led all scorers with 21 points, while his teammate Omar Mowafak contributed 15. Meanwhile for Nigeria, Azeez Sulaimon led with 14 points.
“I had a good game. It was also a great win for my team. It sets us up well for the rest of the tournament,” said Mohammed Hussin.
The Junior D’Tigers, six-time winners of the competition, will face Angola in their next group game on Saturday, after the Angolans saw off Uganda in their opening game, while Egypt will battle Uganda.
