Nigeria’s D’Tigers, Senegal’s Lions in Blockbuster Clash for S’final Ticket

*Defending champions Tunisia sent home by Cape Verde in the playoffs 

Duro Ikhazuagbe

With defending champions Tunisia bundled out of the ongoing 2025 Men’s Afrobasket in Luanda, Angola, the trophy is now wide open for pick by any of the teams left in the tournament. Cape Verde eliminated Tunisia 87-54 last night in the playoffs for a quarter final berth..

Today, 2015 champions Nigeria’s D’Tigers, who had a perfect 3-0 run in the group stage have a herculean mountain to climb when they take on Senegal in the quarterfinal.

It going to be a blockbuster clash as the Terenga Lions are fully conscious of the fact that Nigeria ‘s women rode on their female counterparts in the semifinal on the way to winning their fifth consecutive continental title. The Lions are likely to have vengeance at the back of their minds as they file out against these glory-seeking D’Tigers who are chasing  to emulate their ladies by winning this edition in Luanda.

In D’Tigers Group B adventure, they kicked of with an emphatic 77-59 victory over Madagascar before similarly crushing cup holders Tunisia 87-66. Lions of Cameroon however gave them a run for their money, when they won the fourth quarter by over 30 points to narrow the gap to just nine points overall. For taking their feet off the pedal in that fourth quarter, D’Tigers took a terrible gamble that almost backfired. They certainly will not have such luxury against the Lions from Dakar.

These  Senegalese are five-time AfroBasket champions. They pose more threat to Nigeria than the Tunisians eliminated last night by Cape Verde.

Although they secured their quarterfinal  berth with a 78–65 playoff win over South Sudan, their group stage 2-1 record against Uganda (88–53) and Mali (84–70) and the loss to Egypt (91–77) show how determined they are to reclaiming the title.

However, Stan Okoye, who is the last man standing in the D’Tigers winning squad of 2015, will be aiming to have the Afrobasket gold round his neck once more. Standout player on the Senegalese side is Brancou Badio. He must be watched and taken out with a perfect game plan if D’Tigers will succeed in the quest to reach the semifinal and ultimately the final and the trophy.

AfroBasket reigning champions Tunisia’s defeat yesterday was their third loss in four games in the Angolan capital. Before the Classification Round for the Quarterfinals, Tunisia lost to Nigeria and Cameroon but they trounced Madagascar 81-60 in their final Group B game. 

Cape Verde came back from the locker fired up, outscoring Tunisia 22-5 in the third quarter before settling for the 33-point victory in the playoff game officiated by top Nigerian FIBA certified referee, Kingsley Ojeaburu.

By the time the islanders of Cape Verde reached a 60-38 lead in the third quarter, the game was literally over although Tunisia tried to put on a fight. 

With the win, Cape Verde are back in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive time, having finished fourth four years ago in Kigali, Rwanda. 

Substitutes Keven Gomes, Anderson Correia, Joel Almeida made their presence for Cape Verde, contributing 14 points apiece. Jawhar Jawadi led Tunisia in scoring with 19 points.