Senegal opened their FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament campaign with a resounding 93-87 success over hosts Nigeria in Lagos to take the early initiative in Group A.
The result leaves Nigeria in a do-or-die situation as they will need to beat Mali on Tuesday to keep their 2024 Olympic hopes alive, while it was a hard-fought win for Senegal.
They had found themselves trailing by as many as nine points early in the game.
But the Lions weren’t prepared to go down without a fight and used a strong second half to turn things around in their favor.
Ousmane Ndiaye, Youssou N’Doye and Brancou Badio combined for 43 points for Senegal while point guard Uche Iroegbu came up with a game-high 24 points in the losing cause for Nigeria.
It was a disappointing opening night for Nigeria and Chimezie Metu who finished with a double-double in defeat.
Phoenix Suns forward, Metu stepped up in third quarter, but his 22 points and 10 rebounds proved to be fruitless for the hosts.
The opening day of the FIBA Pre-Olympic Tournament Nigeria 2023 certainly belonged to Senegal, who won’t return to action until Thursday to take on Mali.
This was a significant and momentous result for Senegal – who may have fallen short of qualification to the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
But they have become the first team to beat hosts Nigeria at their own backyard.
