2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: D’Tigers bounce back, trounce Guinea in style

Nigeria’s D’Tigers recovered from their opening day defeat to pick up a dominant 89-70 win over Guinea in their 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. The Nigerian side have now got their qualification bid back on track.

After losing by 12 points in their opener against Ivory Coast, D’Tigers looked to return to winning ways against Guinea, who lost to Cape Verde in their own game.

D’Tigers quickly established themselves as a dominant force in the first quarter as they raced to a 24-15 lead. The second quarter was more even as Guinea looked to gain a foothold, but the first half ended 44-35 to the Nigerians.

Nigeria stretched their advantage in the third quarter, claiming a 17-point advantage to extend their lead to 76-50 heading into the fourth quarter. Guinea showed good improvement in the fourth quarter but were not good enough to rally back, eventually losing 89-70.

Guinean star Daouda Diaby led the scoring in the game with 17 points. Amanze Egekeze led the scoring for Nigeria with 14 points, and Chimezie Metu contributed 12 points and eight rebounds. Uche Iroegbu scored 11 points, and Josh Okogie scored 10 points for D’Tigers. 18-year-old Rueben Chinyelu made his first appearance for Nigeria, scoring three points and five rebounds for the side.

D’Tigers will face Angola in a crunch tie tomorrow as they look to build on this win. A win for the Nigerians will put them in a good position by the end of this qualifying window.