Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, defeated Rwanda 106-62 on Sunday to complete a perfect campaign in the third window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 African Qualifiers in Luanda, Angola.
The emphatic victory over the team from Rwanda secured Nigeria’s place in the second round of the African qualifiers.
This followed earlier wins over Guinea (80-79) and Tunisia (84-81).
Meanwhile, the Nigerian team will return home with a renewed sense of confidence after accomplishing its immediate objective, while maintaining that the bigger task of qualifying for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar remains unfinished.
In an interview with FIBA, the team’s assistant coach, David Vanterpool, said D’Tigers achieved its target for the qualifying window but remained focused on the ultimate goal.
Vanterpool said: ““Our goal was to come here and win three games.
“The job is not done.
“We still have a lot of work to do, and we’ll continue preparing this team.”
Veteran forward Stan Okoye also described the unbeaten run as a confidence booster but stressed that the players remained determined to finish the qualification campaign strongly.
Okoye said: “Going home 3-0 feels amazing, but the job is not done.
“Representing Nigeria means the world to me, and every opportunity to wear this jersey is a blessing.”
Nigeria entered the Luanda window needing positive results after a difficult start to the qualification campaign, but revived their World Cup hopes with successive victories over Guinea, Tunisia, and Rwanda.
