By Ebenezer Bajela.
The Nigeria male basketball team, D’Tigers, on Saturday, recorded their second win at the ongoing FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup qualifiers in Luanda, Angola.
Following poor performances in the previous windows, D’Tigers got their World Cup hopes back on track after recording victory against Ivory Coast on Friday before following it up with another win against Guinea.
D’Tigers defeated their West African neighbors Guinea by 62-59 points in a very cagey encounter at the Pavihao Multiusos de Luanda on Saturday.
Despite falling behind for most part of the encounter, D’Tigers came out stronger in the final quarter to seal a win, keeping their World Cup hopes alive.
The first quarter ended 13 all but the Guineans took the second quarter 22-18 and went ahead to pick the third quarter 13-8.
D’Tigers turn the table in the fourth and final quarter 11-23 to secure a three points winning margin.
The victory means, D’Tigers are third on group E log with 14 points, a point behind Ivory Coast’s 15 points and host Angola, who have 14 points.
Up next for the D’Tigers is a game against Angola on Sunday.
The World Cup will be played in Indonesia, Japan and Philippines.