Nigeria’s Olumiye Oni (C) blocks a shot in the men’s preliminary round Group B match between Italy and Nigeria’s D’Tigers during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Saitama Super Arena. Photo: AFP
Nigeria’s D’Tigers are out of the basketball event of the Olympic Games after losing to Italy 80-71 on Saturday in Saitama.
It was the third loss in a row for the African champions, following earlier defeats to Australia and Germany.
Chimezie Metu scored 22 points and Jordan Nwora added 20 for Nigeria. Jahlil Okafor scored 14 for Nigeria, who were at the Games with a team comprising entirely of Olympic debutants.
D’Tigers opened the summer with exhibition wins over the U.S. and Argentina in Las Vegas but went no further in their first Olympic appearance under coach Mike Brown.
Nigeria led 63-56 after three quarters and saw the lead grow before the play even resumed. Italy’s Michele Vitali got a technical for trying to slap the ball away before it was inbounded to start…
Source: Guardian Newspaper
