Nigeria’s D’Tigers made it a second straight loss to the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde in the ongoing FIBA World Cup Qualifiers Africa Zone after they succumbed 79-70 points in the fourth game of the first round of the qualifiers played yesterday at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
D’Tigers were beaten by the same Blue Sharks 79-71 in November in the first game of the first round but Nigeria recovered to beat Mali and Uganda to end the first round in the first spot with two wins and a loss.
D’Tigers managed to edge the Blue Sharks 15-14 in the first quarter but Cape Verde opened an unassailable 12 points lead in the second quarter which they won 25-11. Nigeria won the third quarter 21-17 but still trailed in the overall scores before the fourth quarter finished 23-23 pts.
D’Tigers Christian Mekowolu and Ikenna Ndugba finished with 13 points each while Uchenna Iroegbu ended the game with 12 points. Ben Emelogu, Michael Gbinije, and Chimezie Metu were the others that gave a good account of themselves in the game.