In their opening Group B
game at the Carioca 1 Arena, D’Tigers failed to raise their game in
three-quarters of the match to consequently endure a costly opening loss.
Poor start by D’Tigers,
further compounded by the early loss of inspirational player Olaseni Lawal to
injury, on Sunday ensured a 66-94 loss to Argentina at the Rio Olympics.
The Nigerian male
basketball side were playing in their second Olympics, yet they never played
like the African champions they are as they crashed to the South Americans.
They lost the opening
quarter 15-22 and were very poor in the second on the way to a 16-28 loss that
saw them missing many three-point shots and conceding many.
Overall, Argentina
converted 44 percent of their attempts while Nigeria could only convert 16
percent.
They were, however, better
in the two-point shots, converting 54 percent of theirs while their opponents
utilized 47 percent of theirs.
The D’Tigers also well
utilized their free throws, scoring 82 percent of the ones they won, while the
Argentines converted 68 percent of theirs.
This did tell on the third
quarter play when D’Tigers lost only by 19-22.
Facundo Campazzo was,
however, outstanding for the Argentines, scoring 19 points and scooping three
rebounds.
Ike Diogu was equally
outstanding for D’Tigers with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Nigeria now stays bottom of
the group, with Argentina topping and Lithuania in second place after an 82-76
defeat of hosts Brazil.
Croatia also beat Spain
72-70 to stay in third place, with Spain fourth and Brazil fifth.
Nigeria will now take on
Lithuania on Tuesday, and will be needing a victory if it is to emerge among
the group’s best four for a place in the quarter-finals.
Shame
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