D’Tigers have emerged winners of the friendly China Autumn Basketball Tour tagged Jishou Rural Commercial Bank Cup in China.
China provided D’Tigers an opportunity to be back in action for the first time since their ouster from the Paris 2024 Pre-Olympic qualifying tournament hosted by Nigeria in Lagos.
The Nigeria senior men’s basketball team defeated some of the best-ranked basketball teams in the world, including China, the USA, and Serbia, among the countries, that participated in the tournament.
D’Tigers beat Team USA 75-70 in their first game of the friendly tournament in China before beating FIBA world number six ranked team Serbia 81-53 to continue their stunning performance at the championship.
They continued their impressive performance in the Far East with another win over the hosts.
The team failed in their quest to pick a slot for the Paris 2024 Olympics during the qualifiers held in Lagos last August but are currently on one of the several developmental programmes of the Nigeria Basketball Federation board led by Musa Ahmadu-Kida.
The China Autumn Tour, which is an all-expense paid tournament by the organisers in China, served as a morale booster for the players in both the local league and from other leagues around the world after returning from the self-imposed ban by the Federal Government last year.
D’Tigers demonstrated grit and wits playing against top ranked basketball teams from across the world to emerge champions of the tournament.
