Nigeria’s U-18 men’s basketball team, the J’Tigers, were eliminated from the 2024 Afrobasket U-18 Championship after an 81-70 defeat to Mali in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa.
Mali dominated from the start, leading 23-19 in the first quarter and 40-38 at halftime. Despite Nigeria's efforts, Mali maintained control to secure the win. Earlier, J’Tigers had defeated Uganda 72-61 to reach the quarterfinals, while Mali edged Ivory Coast 73-69. The top two teams from the tournament will qualify for the FIBA World Championship in Switzerland.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s U-18 women’s basketball team, the J’Tigress, advanced to the semifinals after defeating Egypt 61-56 in their quarterfinal match on Wednesday. The J’Tigress are set to face Uganda in the semifinals on Friday night.
In other news, Rwanda’s men’s U-18 team was knocked out after a 67-53 loss to Cameroon in their quarterfinal match. Rwanda started strong, winning the first quarter 16-14, but Cameroon rallied back to dominate the second half, advancing to the semifinals. Despite Rwanda’s exit, standout performances came from Dylan Kayijuka, who scored 19 points, and Sean Mwesigwa, who added 12 points.
Cameroon’s Amadou Seini recorded 15 points and 23 rebounds, while Hermann Bel Daryl Bay also contributed 15 points. Rwanda will now compete in classification games for 5th to 8th place.
(NAN)
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