2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: Nigeria Has A Mountain To Climb

The world basketball governing body, FIBA, has released the schedule for the final and crucial Window 6 of the African 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.

The 18 games that will be played from February 24 to February 26 in Alexandria (Egypt) and Luanda (Angola) will be used to select the four teams that will join Ivory Coast as Africa’s representatives in the World Cup in Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines from 25 August to 10 September 2023.

The Ivory Coast is the first African team to qualify for the 32-nation FIBA’s flagship event in August, which will be held in three countries – Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines for the first time.

Twelve of the 16 countries that started the African qualifying process in November 2021 are still in the running, albeit some have a higher chance of making it to the 2023 World Cup than others.

This qualifying round is a matter of life or death for nations like Nigeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Egypt, Tunisia, Senegal, and South Sudan because they all have three games left to play in a short amount of time.

The best third-place team, along with the top two teams in Groups E and F, will secure the five World Cup spots open to African nations.

The Task Ahead Of The D’Tigers Of Nigeria

D’Tigers now have a remarkably difficult task to reach the World Cup qualification stage as a result of their abject performance in Window 5 of the qualifying rounds.

The D’Tigers only won one of their three games, a 78-66 loss to the Ivory Coast, putting their chances of qualifying for the World Cup this year in serious jeopardy.

After winning 89-70 against Guinea in their second game to avenge their earlier loss to the Ivoirians, they were brought back to earth in their last game of the series, losing to Angola.

The Nigerian national basketball team will play Ivory Coast on February 24 in Luanda to open this round of qualifying. They will play Guinea at the Pavilhao Multiusos do Kilamba the next day.

On February 26 at the same venue, the series’ final game will be played against Angola.