D’Tigers make loud announcement of arrival with 90-87 win over USA in Olympics warm-up
Becomes first African country to defeat USA at basketball
Nigeria’s D’Tigers completed a brilliant 90-87 victory over the US Basketball Men National Team to pick up an impressive and important win ahead of the commencement of this year’s Olympic games set to hold in Tokyo, Japan. Nigeria’s win is the greatest upset to ever occur in the world of basketball.
The USBMNT called on the best of the best from the NBA. Their starting five for the game consisted of Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum and Bam Adebayo. The D’Tigers roster contained a mix of NBA and non-NBA stars. The D’Tigers, coached by Golden State Warriors associate coach Mike Brown, kept moving and making it difficult for their illustrious opponents to build a head of steam. At the end of the first half of the game, the D’Tigers trailed 41-43, but strong performances in the second half saw the Nigerian side end up 90-87 winners. They scored 20 three-point shots in the game, and this helped them to move clear of their opponents. Miami Heat Guard Gabe Vincent led the scoring for the D’Tigers with 21 points and 4 assists, while Israel-based Caleb Agada contributed 17 points. Durant led the scoring for the USA with 17 points and 5 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum contributed 15 points.
Nigeria’s win over the USA is sweet revenge for the embarrassment caused the African nation by the USA. At the 2012 Olympic games in London, the USA defeated Nigeria 156-73 by a 83 point margin. D’Tigers win over the USA is their first ever against this opponent and in fact, the first time an African nation would defeat the USA in a basketball match.
