Afrobasket: Nigeria beat Mali 74-59

Nigeria’s Basketball team, D’Tigers
began their campaign in the 2013 African
Basketball Championship (Afrobasket) on a
good note by beating Mali 74-59 in the
opening match.
The match which had a tie at some points
later had the Nigerian team dominating the
last 30 minutes of play.
D’Tigers grouped in D would continue its
campaign in the tournament playing Congo
on Friday and another match against
Cameroon on Sunday.
Coach Ayo Bakare told newsmen after the
match that the team’s performance was not
bad, adding: “It was a good performance,
we finished well at the end.’’
Some fans, who spoke shortly after the
match, said the team showed resilience all
through the game.
One of them, Sunny Ugbo, a Nigerian-based
in Abidjan and a sports promoter, said the
team had potential to go far in the
tournament.
“I am seeing a team with good combination
and fighting spirit, at a time there was a tie,
but they rose to make the difference in the
end,’’ he said.
Another supporter of the team, Festus Efosa,
said that he was happy seeing a Nigerian
basketball team with enormous potential.
“I must say that it was good display, the
Malians cannot also be said to be a very bad
side, they also did well, but we did better,’’
Efosa said.
Also, Kelechi Franklin, a Nigerian, urged the
team to keep up the spirit and stay focused
on clinching the title.
“My advice is that they should make us
proud by winning the title. Their play today
was good, I urge them to come out better in
the days ahead.’’
Cameroon defeated Republic of Congo
74-43 in an earlier group match played on
Wednesday. (NAN)