Nigeria’s senior men’s team, the D’Tigers, lost to Senegal 91-75 in their quarterfinal match at the Pavilhao Multiusos de Luanda in Angola on Wednesday, eliminating them from the ongoing 2025 FIBA AfroBasket championship.
Nigeria had won five of the eight previous meetings between the two countries, and this was their ninth meeting overall. Senegal had to play a playoff match against South Sudan to advance to the round of eight, while the 2015 champions had already won all three of their round-robin matches against Madagascar, Tunisia, and Cameroon to finish first in Group B.
Senegal took the following ten minutes 30-18 to gain an 11-point lead going into halftime, but head coach Mohammed Abdulrahman’s team lost the plot in the second quarter when the outstanding Jean-Jacques Boissy made an appearance in spectacular fashion.
The Francophone nation applied more pressure when the third quarter resumed, and it paid off as they triumphed 23–13. In a last-ditch effort to save their tournament spot, the D’Tigers made an incredible comeback in the fourth and final quarter, but it was too late as they defeated the Senegalese 20–15.
With a game-high 32 points, Brancou Badio was important in Senegal’s triumph. Moustapha Pape-Diop scored 14 points that evening, and Jean-Jacques Boissy added 19 points as well.
Nigeria will leave the quadrennial competition in the quarterfinals as a result of the defeat.
After missing out on the 2023 tournament, they will now focus on the FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifying Series, which will start in November. They are hoping to purchase a ticket for the 2027 tournament, which will take place in Qatar.
