Femi Solaja with agency reports
Nigeria’s quest to retain the Afrobasket Championships is back on track following D’Tigers’ 106-91 victory against Cameroon in one of the quarterfinal games Thursday in Tunisia.
The Nigerian team produced its best performance against a formidable Cameroonian side also determined to rule the continent in the sport.
The defending champions were never in danger of relinquishing their lead as they did in the group stages against Democratic Republic of Congo.
Their opponent on several occasions looked like they could come back in the game especially when they reduced it to just five points at the end of the 3rd quarter, but the glory-seeking Nigerians did not relent as they stretch the lead most of the time.
According to reports from www.fiba.com, the game-changing moment came at the start of the 4th quarter when Nigeria went on a 10-0 run that led Cameroon to call for a timeout, but the latter weren’t able to claw their way back.
It was really hard to call who was Nigeria’s best player of the evening as all the players contributed points that earned them the win.
Ike Nwamu was so good that he made 7 of 9 shots he attempted from outside the arc, finishing with 25 points and 7 assists. In short, virtually all those points came in the last quarter.
Ike Diogu led by example for Nigeria, making 28 points and 9 rebounds with 7/12 FG, converting 5/6 of 3-point shots attempted in the game.
Bryant Mbamalu was another big performer for D’Tigers with a tally of 22 points and 4 rebounds. Followed by Deji Akindele with 13 points and also Ike Iroegbu with the 7 assists that set up his teammates.
The scoreline showed that D’Tigers’ completely dominated, but its looks surprising that Cameroon who had four players with double digits still lost.
Beniot Mbala had a game high 32 points and 10 rebounds, while Felix Bogmis had 25 points and Adala Moto contributing a further 20 points.
