W’Cup qualifiers: D’Tigers end perfect window with Rwanda rout

Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, produced another commanding display on Sunday, defeating Rwanda 106-62 to complete a flawless qualifying window and secure passage to the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers, THE PRIME NEWS reports.

The emphatic victory ensured Nigeria finished the three-game window with a perfect record, having earlier defeated Tunisia and Guinea, underscoring the team’s resurgence under head coach David Fizdale.

Point guard Uche Iroegbu orchestrated the Nigerian offence with an outstanding all-round performance, finishing with 17 points and seven assists. Caleb Agada, Ikechukwu Mekowulu and Stan Okoye each contributed 13 points as D’Tigers showcased their attacking depth and defensive intensity.

Nigeria took control early and never looked back, dominating both ends of the floor to overwhelm the Rwandans in one of their most convincing performances in recent years.

They won the first quarter 25-14 before taking a 49-29 lead into the break.

Fizdale’s men became even more ruthless in the third quarter, opening up an unassailable 80-44 lead before finishing the game strongly with 26 points in the fourth quarter.

D’Tigers had opened the qualifying window with a hard-fought 84-81 victory over Tunisia before following it up with a dramatic 80-79 comeback win against Guinea.

The victory capped an impressive turnaround for a team that entered the qualifying window under pressure to revive its World Cup hopes after winning only one of their first three games in the previous qualifying window.

Nigeria finished on 10 points, level with Tunisia and Guinea, as the top three teams from each of the four groups advanced to the second round, which will be played between August 2026 and February 2027.

The remaining 12 teams will then be divided into two groups of six, carrying over their results from the first round. The top two teams in each group, along with the best third-placed team, will qualify for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar.