2025 FIBA AfroBasket Qualifiers: Nigerian Basketball Team, D’Tigers Suffer Defeat

After a dramatic buildup to the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers, the Nigerian Basketball men’s team, D’Tigers, finally arrived in Tunisia on Friday, the same day they played their first game at the tournament.

Recall that the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) initially announced the withdrawal of the D’Tigers from the tournament due to a lack of funds.

Hours after the announcement, the NBBF made a U-turn by announcing that the federation was making last-minute efforts to get the team into the tournament.

From that point, there were reports that the basketball players weren’t happy with the ill-treatment from the federation but that didn’t discourage them from traveling to Tunisia for the outing.

In their first game at the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifying tournament, the D’Tigers proved that they were not fully settled in before the game as Libya defeated them 89-82 at the Salle Mohamed Mzali court in Monastir, Tunisia.

The D’Tigers grabbed a comeback win in the second quarter, 19-15, after losing the first quarter, 16-25. Coach Abdulrahman Mohammed couldn’t find a way to help the team maintain their four-point lead as they lost the third quarter 20-15.

That didn’t discourage the Nigerian side from fighting back as they grabbed a 25-15 win in the final quarter which forced the game into overtime where they lost 12-7.

The Nigerian side who are no longer in the running to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics and Basketball World Cup, will resume their 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers against Uganda later today, February 24. They will then end their Group B campaign with a game against Cape Verde on Sunday, February 25.