D’Tigress, Nigeria’s senior women basketball team, on Monday in Yaoundé beat their Angolan counterparts 85-65 to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2021 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship.
In their final Group B game, the Nigerian side dislodged the Angolans who were leading the group to make it two wins from two matches and emerge as group leaders.
A loss would have seen the Nigerian side finishing second and going to play in the qualifier to quarter-finals match against Cape Verde on Wednesday.
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It was a similar route their male counterparts, D’Tigers, carved for themselves at the Men’s AfroBasket a few weeks ago in Rwanda, and it did them no good.
On Monday, D’Tigress ensured none of that by leading from the first quarter, which they won 31-18.
They extended their lead with a 21-10 win in the second quarter, heading for the game’s long break period comfortable leaders with a whopping 24 points.
They however stepped off the throttle in the third and fourth quarters, losing 15-19 and then drawing 18-18 respectively,
Adaora Elonu was a top performer for them, with 10 points, three rebounds and four assists, while Ezinne Kalu grabbed 12 points, just as Ify Ibekwe also had eight rebounds.
With the 67-50 win over Mozambique in their opening group phase game on Saturday, D’Tigress won the group and will now face either one of Cote d’Ivoire or Guinea in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
The two west African sides will meet on Wednesday in the qualifier to quarter-finals to decide which of them would advance to meet Nigeria.
Nigeria has thus avoided the qualifier to quarter-finals stage, where D’Tigers lost to Uganda at the Men’s AfroBasket in Rwanda.
Angola, Group B runners-up after the loss to Nigeria, now have to overcome the hurdle of facing Cape Verde before they can play in the quarter-finals.(NAN)
