Nigeria’s D’Tigers opened their quest for a 2027 FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup ticket on a disappointing note, falling 88–78 to Tunisia after overtime in Thursday’s qualifier.
The team endured a rough build-up to the fixture, arriving in Tunisia just hours before their only training session. Head coach Mohammed Abdulrahman opted for a starting lineup of Jordan Ogundiran, captain Ike Nwamu, Stan Okoye, Talib Zanna and Chris Obekpa from his 12-man squad made up of local and foreign-based players.
Despite the travel setback, Nigeria started brightly, racing to a 5–0 lead thanks to a Zanna three-pointer and a strong finish from Nwamu. Tunisia quickly responded and took an 8–5 lead, but D’Tigers edged the first quarter 15–12.
Ogundiran extended the gap early in the second quarter, yet Tunisia stormed back to take the period 23–17 and a 35–32 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was tense, with Nigeria trailing for most of the stretch before rallying late to tie the game 53–53. D’Tigers controlled the fourth quarter and looked set for victory until late errors allowed Omar Abada and Oussama Marnaoui to push Tunisia ahead 73–70. Stan Okoye rescued Nigeria with a clutch basket in the final seconds to force overtime.
But Tunisia dominated the extra period, led by Abada’s explosive performance. The guard finished with a game-high 29 points, helping Tunisia seal the 88–78 win.
Talib Zanna was Nigeria’s standout performer, recording 22 points and eight rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat.
D’Tigers will now aim to reset quickly before facing Guinea on Saturday, followed by a showdown with Rwanda on Sunday. All teams reconvene for the second phase in July 2026, where only the top three from each group advance to the next round of qualifiers.
Nigeria currently sits eighth in FIBA Africa’s power rankings, and the federation is keen to restore the prestige the team once enjoyed.
Their last World Cup appearance came in 2019, and the D’Tigers failed to qualify for the 2023 edition — making this qualifying campaign even more critical for Nigerian basketball’s revival.