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Nigeria's World Cup hopes comes to an end, lose to Angola in final qualifier.
Nigeria's senior men's national basketball team known as D'Tigers will not be at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
D'Tigers absence from the FIBA World Cup was confirmed following a 65 - 59 loss to Angola in their final group game played on Sunday, February 26, 2023.
In the final round of qualification games, D'tigres needed a perfect record to qualify for the World Cup.
The team made up of 11 home-based players recorded victories against Ivory Coast and Guinea to keep their qualification hopes alive.
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D'Tigers lose to Angola
Cape Verde's victory against Ivory Coast in the early group game already put D'Tigers in a difficult spot to qualify for the World Cup.
The team led by Head Coach Ogoh Odaudu started off nervous in front of a packed crowd supporting the home team in Luanda.
Angola dominated the first quarter to take a three-point lead. It was more of the same from the central African side in the second quarter stretching their lead to seven at the halftime break.
In the third quarter, D'Tigers were unable to keep up with the intensity of the Angolans as they mustered just 11 points.
Angola took a massive 15-point victory going into the final quarter and although D'Tigers made a late run the hosts held on for a six-point victory.
D'Tigers now miss out on the World Cup in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia despite the expansion to 32 teams and five slots available for Africa.
The team will now return home and prepare for the qualifiers of the 2024 Olympics Games.
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