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From JOE APU, Abidjan
Nigeria’s crisis-hit U18 men’s basketball team suffered a second consecutive defeat at the FIBA U18 AfroBasket Championship on Friday, going down 59-50 to Chad in a Group A clash at the Palais des Sports de Treichville.
The Junior D’Tigers, who arrived in Abidjan as joint-record champions with six continental titles, took the floor with just nine available players after two additions were cleared to bolster a squad that had been gutted by an eligibility crisis.
Nigeria’s troubles began before the tournament even started, when nearly half of the original 12-man squad — five players awaited FIBA’s mandatory medical age-verification process and were ruled ineligible, plunging preparations into disarray. The suspension reportedly caught up with players who had already featured in Nigeria’s domestic professional league, including one who had played in this year’s Basketball Africa League.
With only seven eligible players, Nigeria opened the tournament against record co-champions Egypt on Wednesday and were beaten 95-68, unable to sustain the pace once fatigue set in. FIBA’s own recap of that game noted that, playing with seven players, Nigeria could only compete for two quarters before running out of legs in the second half as Egypt pulled away.
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Two additional players joined the squad in time for Friday’s meeting with Chad, but the reinforcements weren’t enough to prevent a second straight loss, with Nigeria falling 59-50 in a game low on the fireworks seen elsewhere in Group A — a contrast to host nation Côte d’Ivoire’s 104-51 rout of Chad in the tournament opener.
The result leaves Nigeria winless through two games in Group A, a stunning start for a program chasing its first AfroBasket title since 2006 under head coach Michael Ikima, who had dubbed this squad the “Redemption team.” Nigeria’s qualifying campaign had suggested a very different trajectory: the team swept all four of its matches at the Zone 3 qualifiers in Ouagadougou without conceding a defeat.
Nigeria’s original squad for the tournament had been named as Idornigie Emmanuel, Ognonna Joshua, Nwafor Victor, Unekwe Ekene, Kayode Olakunle, Sunday Victor, John Isiah, Otaluwa Daniel, Okoh Thomas, Aniegbunam Somto, Aribo Olakunle, Attah James and Adelagun David (ACLSports) , though the eligibility ruling significantly reshaped the group that actually took the court in Abidjan.
Nigeria will close out Group A play against tournament hosts Côte d’Ivoire on Sunday, August 9, needing a strong showing simply to stay in contention, with the top two finishers in each group advancing automatically to the quarterfinals and two more spots reserved for the best third-placed teams across all groups. The tournament also serves as continental qualification for the 2027 FIBA U19 World Cup in Pardubice, Czechia.
