Nigeria’s D’Tigers began their chase for a 2027 FIBA Men’s World Cup ticket on the wrong footing on Thursday, losing 88–78 in overtime to hosts Tunisia in the first game of the first phase of the qualifiers.
Following a difficult trip to Tunisia — arriving just a few hours before their only training session — head coach Mohammed Abdulrahman started Jordan Ogundiran, captain Ike Nwamu, Stan Okoye, Talib Zanna and Chris Obekpa from his 12-man roster of overseas and domestic players.
D’Tigers started on the front foot, going 5–0 up in the opening stages. Zanna led the charge with a three-pointer, followed by two points from captain Nwamu. The Tunisians, however, levelled and led 8–5 inside five minutes, but Nigeria managed to win the first quarter 15–12.
Ogundiran made it 17–12 at the start of the second quarter, but Tunisia crawled back into the game, sealing the quarter 23–17 to take a 35–32 lead into the break.
The affair became tense in the third quarter, with Nigeria trailing for much of the period, but they managed to win it 21–18 and level the game at 53–53.
D’Tigers dominated the fourth quarter and held the lead for most of the 10 minutes, but they let it slip in the closing stages, allowing Omar Abada and Oussama Marnaoui to set Tunisia up for a 73–70 lead before Okoye restored parity with 15 seconds remaining and sent the game into overtime.
Abada, who scored a game-high 29 points, continued to lead Tunisia’s charge in overtime, and their firepower proved too much for the D’Tigers, who surrendered the game 88–78.
Zanna top-scored for Nigeria with 22 points and eight rebounds.
Coach Abdulrahman’s team will hope to regroup and win their next game against Guinea on Saturday to get their campaign back on track. The other team in the group is Rwanda, who face Nigeria on Sunday before the sides reconverge for the second phase in July 2026.
The top three teams from each group will progress to the second round, which will also be played next year.
The 12 teams will then compete across two groups of six, carrying forward all first-round results. Only the top two in each group and the best third-placed team will claim World Cup tickets.
The team currently stands eighth in FIBA’s African power rankings, and the federation has stressed that these qualifiers are crucial to restoring the status once enjoyed by the D’Tigers.
Their last World Cup appearance, in 2019, ended at the first round; Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2023 edition.
