D’Tigers Of Nigeria Suffer Second Straight Defeat, Lose 82-79 To South Sudan

D’Tigers suffered their second straight defeat in the second round of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers after South Sudan beat them 82-79 on Friday, August 28.

The Bright Stars held off a late D’Tigers fightback to claim the three-point win at the Salle Multidisciplinaire de Radès in Radès, Tunisia, leaving Nigeria with a difficult task in their push for a place at the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.

South Sudan dominated the opening stages and produced a 9-0 run late in the first quarter. The burst turned a 15-14 deficit into a 25-15 lead before they ended the quarter 30-19 in front.

D’Tigers gradually found their rhythm and mounted a strong comeback. Caleb Agada inspired a 7-0 run towards the end of the second quarter and into the third, helping D’Tigers turn a 43-41 deficit into a 48-43 lead with 9:08 remaining in the third period.

The Bright Stars refused to let the advantage slip and regained control as the game went down to the wire.

Okogie levelled the score at 70-70 with a three-pointer with 7:03 left after South Sudan had moved 70-67 ahead. But Wenyen Gabriel restored the Bright Stars’ lead just 21 seconds later with a hook shot, and South Sudan held on to seal the win.

Marial Shayok led South Sudan with 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Nuni Omot added 13 points, while Carlik Jones came close to a triple-double with 11 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.

Okogie finished as Nigeria’s top scorer with 14 points, eight rebounds and two assists, but his efforts could not prevent D’Tigers from suffering another narrow loss.

The defeat followed Nigeria’s 78-62 loss to Cameroon on Wednesday in their opening game of the second round.

D’Tigers now face a crucial encounter with Cape Verde on Sunday.