Nigeria’s D’Tigers closed out their Group D campaign of the 2025 AfroBasket on a high and impressive note yesterday evening at the Pavilhao Multiusos de Kilamba.
The D’Tigers’ 99-90 win over Cameroon means they finish with a 3-0 record. More importantly, for the D’Tigers is the direct entry to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
In their inspired performance, Nigeria had six players score in the double digits. Josh Okogie led the D’Tigers with 16 points.
Caleb Agada scored 15, Stan Okoye finished with 14, Christian Mekowulu and Ike Nwamu each contributed 12, and Martins Igbannu scored 10.
Cameroon were led by Fabien Ateba with 19 points and Yves Missi with 18. Jeremiah Hill left the game with a knee injury after scoring 16 points, and Samir Gbetkom scored 13.
The two sides traded buckets in a frantic first quarter that saw the D’Tigers 28-25 up. Mekwolu led the scoring for the D’Tigers with six points, all coming from three-point range, while Cameroon’s Hill had seven points.
Signs were already there in the first quarter that the small crowd in attendance were in for a high-scoring game.
In the second quarter, Nigeria upped their intensity, outscoring Cameroon 30-16 at the end of the second quarter.
Agada played a super second, scoring 10 points, which included a three-pointer early on, while Mekowulu added six more, which also included a three, making 4/5 from the arc.
Josh Okogie and Stan Okoye propelled Nigeria to the must-win encounter, combining for 30 Nigeria points. Okoye, who came off the bench, put in a great shift for the Tigers, especially from three-point range, where he was 4-for-4, and he also grabbed seven boards.
Cameroon struggled to find an answer to Nigeria’s three-point prowess, and they ultimately paid the price with their nine-point loss. Nigeria’s 15 three-pointers were the most by any team in the tournament so far.
Trailing by as many as 34 points required a Herculean effort from Cameroon, which they displayed in the fourth quarter. However, their fight-back spirit came a little too late.
Nigeria’s defense won the day thwarting Cameroon’s attempts to compete with them.
This was the fourth matchup between the two teams at the AfroBasket tournament. The D’Tigers had knocked out the Indomitable Lions in the quarterfinals of the 2017 tournament, and the stakes were just as high in this final group matchup.
A win for either team would mean topping Group B and earning a direct spot in the quarterfinals.
Eventually, Nigeria won the group with a perfect 3-0 record, while Cameroon finished second at 2-1.
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