D’Tigers coach Alex Nwora and star man Al-Farouq Aminu have talked up the Nigerian team’s impressive performance in the 83-66 win over fierce West African rivals, Cote D’Ivoire in their first classification game at the ongoing 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Head Coach, Nwora again praised the team for beautifully executing the game plan.
“I think we did a good job today to contain a well coached Ivorian team. I am proud of these guys and their efforts. I think we have one more game to worry about against China on Sunday,” Nwora told NBBF Media.
The man of the match, Al-Farouq Aminu said that with the new goal being a qualification for the Olympics, the team came out to get the job done.
“That is our goal now obviously. We got knocked out of the contention to get a medal so we had to change our vision and continue to make sure that we keep Nigerian basketball, playing every year and compete. So, we want to ensure that we do the best to qualify for the Olympics,” Aminu was quoted by NBBF Media.
On the team’s performance in the second half, he said, “We wanted to come out in the second half and play what we thought should have been. First quarter, we got a bit of a lead, the second quarter dropped. We told ourselves we needed a good 3rd quarter because we didn’t want it to come down to the stretch. We are proud of the way we executed the offense and defense to extend the lead.”
The win is the 6th by Nigeria in as many as seven meetings between both sides.
D’Tigers were inspired by Aminu with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists to emerge the top performer.
D’Tigers who have since set their target on an automatic Olympic Games qualification started in a fierce fashion to win the first quarter, 24-18 points.
Not to be outdone and inspired by Deon Thompson, the Ivorians stepped up their offensive play to win the second quarter, 17-13points as the first half ended with just two points advantage for D’Tigers, 37-35pts.
Some crucial treys from Nnamdi Vincent and Stan Okoye proved decisive in the 3rd quarter against the familiar foes who were not ready to roll over without a fight.
Vincent contributed 15 points, 2 rebounds while Ekpe Udoh had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in a match that 5 players scored double digits.
Alex Nwora’s team is the highest ranked African team at the World Cup ahead of their last game against host nation China.
A win will see D’Tigers book a place in Tokyo 2020 Olympics
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COMMENTS
We are all solidly behind you guys.
Your performances have been top-notched.
We started poorly against the Russians,who I believe we could have beaten if we had brought our A-game.
China struggled against The South Koreans and we should be able to dispatch them without much sweat,though home support will be an advantage to them. However, our players are used to playing in volatile atmosphere.
Up D’tigers