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Nigeria’s D’Tigers will look to build on their impressive victory over Tunisia when they take on Group C leaders Guinea on Friday in a crucial 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers clash in Luanda, Angola.
The former African champions revived their qualification hopes on Thursday with a hard-fought 84-81 victory over Tunisia, avenging the 88-78 overtime defeat they suffered against the North Africans in the opening round of the qualifiers last November.
The victory also marked a winning start for new head coach David Fizdale, who has overseen a major rebuilding process since taking charge. Nigeria arrived in Luanda with a 1-2 record and a squad featuring 11 new players, but the revamped D’Tigers produced a spirited display to claim a vital win.
Tunisia head coach Adel Tlatli admitted he faced a completely different Nigerian side.
“This is not the same team we defeated seven months ago. They could have ten different rosters,” Tlatli said.
Only Paul Dibal, who did not feature in Thursday’s game, remained from the squad that faced Tunisia in November, underlining the scale of the overhaul.
Nigeria’s aggressive defence played a decisive role in the victory, forcing Tunisia into 19 turnovers.
Fizdale praised his players’ determination and resilience while acknowledging that the team is still a work in progress.
“Collective and physical toughness down the stretch won us the game,” the American coach said.
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“We did a lot of things wrong. We made a lot of mistakes that these guys have never made.”
The former NBA head coach revealed that assembling the new-look squad required extensive recruitment after his appointment.
“As soon as I got the job, I leaned on our general manager and the players to identify who we needed for this qualifying window. I started recruiting heavily,” Fizdale said.
He disclosed that veteran forward Stan Okoye and point guard Ike Iroegbu were among the first players he contacted as he set about rebuilding the team.
Fizdale also revealed that several NBA-based Nigerian players have expressed interest in representing the country in future qualification windows.
“We have six to seven guys in the NBA who really want to play for Nigeria. I’m getting text messages from different players. If we get legitimate NBA players into the roster, half of this current team will still be part of it,” he added.
Attention now shifts to Friday’s encounter with Guinea, who top Group C with a perfect record of four wins from four games and eight points. Nigeria have moved to six points after recording their second victory in four matches.
A victory over the unbeaten Guineans would further boost the D’Tigers’ hopes of securing a place in the next phase of the African qualifiers and reinforce the positive impact of Fizdale’s rebuilding project.
