Nigeria’s D’Tigers have again lost to Cape Verde 79-70 in Group A first round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification taking place in Rwanda on Friday.
The match is the continuation of the first round qualifiers which started in November 2021.
This is Cape Verde’s second win against D’Tigers in the qualifying series.
Cape Verde triumphed over D’Tigers 79-71 in their first meeting in Angola in 2021.
In Friday’s encounter, D’Tigers won the first quarter 15-14 points, but Cape Verde took charge in the second quarter, 25-11 to end the first half with a 39-26pts lead.
After four rounds of games, Cape Verde lead Group A on six points while D’Tigers are in second place with same number of points.
Uganda is in third position also on six points and Mali are fourth on five points.
Meanwhile, D’Tigers’ game against Mali on Saturday is in doubt after the West Africans failed to show up for their game with Uganda.
As a result of Mali’s failure to make an appearance, Uganda were awarded a 20-0 win.
The qualifiers will decide the five African teams that will participate at the 2023 FIBA World Cup in Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from 25 August to 10 September.