Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, the D’Tigers, finished the third window of their 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers in Libya unbeaten following a 77-62 win over Cape Verde on Sunday, Afrosport reports.
Having lost their opening three games, the D’Tigers needed to win their remaining games in the final round of the qualifiers, and the coach Abdulrahman Mohammed-led side did just that.
NIGERIA WINS!! We started this window 0-3 at the bottom of the table and went undefeated in LIBYA! pic.twitter.com/su57FUrixz
— D’Tigers | Nigeria Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) February 23, 2025
They beat hosts Libya 75-70 in their first game on Friday, recorded an 87-67 blowout win over Uganda in their second game, and needed to see off West African neighbours Cape Verde in the final group game.
The D’Tigers against Cape Verde at the Grand Hall in Tripoli were led by a game-high 23 points from Russia-based guard Caleb Agada, who shot 10-of-21 from the floor and was 3-for-10 from the 3-point line. He grabbed eight rebounds and finished with a game-high six assists and five steals in about 31 minutes of action.
Talib Zanna had 13 points, and Ike Nwamu got 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists as three of Nigeria’s five starters finished in double figures.
Meanwhile, for Cape Verde, Ivan Almeida led with a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds, while Shane Da Rosa tallied 10 points and five assists as they lost all three of their games in the final round of qualifying.
The D’Tigers, with three wins and three losses from their six qualifying games, finished third in Group B to book their ticket to the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket tournament set to take place in Angola from 12-24 August.
You can’t have AfroBasket without NIGERIA!
Qualified once again!! We’re going to Angola! pic.twitter.com/vuKs66nJZM
— D’Tigers | Nigeria Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) February 23, 2025
16 teams will compete in the 31st edition of the tournament in Angola, including two-time defending champions Tunisia, who won in 2017 and 2021.
