Nigeria’s Under-18 Men’s Basketball team, the J’Tigers, has been eliminated from the 2024 Afrobasket U-18 Championship following a 81-70 defeat to Mali in the quarterfinals on Thursday night. The game, held in Pretoria, South Africa, saw Mali lead from the start, winning the first quarter 23-19 and maintaining a slim lead at halftime with a score of 40-38. Despite the J’Tigers’ efforts, Mali managed to secure the victory.
The top teams in the championship will qualify for the FIBA World Championship in Switzerland.
In contrast, the J’Tigress advanced to the semi-finals after a 61-56 victory over Egypt in their quarterfinals on Wednesday. They will face Uganda in the semi-finals on Friday night.
In other results, Rwanda’s Under-18 men’s team was knocked out of the FIBA AfroBasket 2024 after a surprising 53-67 loss to Cameroon. Rwanda led initially, winning the first quarter 16-14, but Cameroon surged ahead to take the second quarter 22-16, going into halftime with a 36-32 lead. Although Rwanda won the third quarter 17-15, Cameroon dominated the final quarter 16-4 to secure their place in the semifinals.
Cameroonian players Amadou Seini and Hermann Bel Daryl Bay were key contributors, with Seini scoring 15 points and grabbing 23 rebounds, while Bay added 15 points. Rwanda’s Dylan Kayijuka led his team with 19 points, and Sean Mwesigwa contributed 12 points. Rwanda will now compete in a classification game for the 5th to 8th positions.