Nigeria's D'Tigers boosted their hopes of reaching the next round of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers with a hard-fought 84-81 victory over Tunisia on Thursday in Luanda, Angola.
The win was Nigeria's second of the qualifying campaign and breathed new life into their bid after suffering back-to-back defeats during the previous qualification window.
Tunisia had beaten Nigeria 88-78 after overtime in their first-round Group C meeting on home soil last November. However, Thursday's rematch in Luanda signalled a fresh start for D'Tigers under newly appointed head coach David Fizdale.
Nigeria made a bright start, edging the opening quarter 23-21 before Tunisia responded by taking the second quarter 23-20 to leave the contest evenly poised at halftime.
The game remained tightly contested after the interval, but D'Tigers regained the initiative by winning the third quarter 21-19 before holding their nerve in the final period, claiming it 20-18 to seal a deserved three-point victory.
The result lifted Nigeria to third in Group C on six points, level with second-placed Tunisia and just two points behind leaders Guinea.
D'Tigers will now shift their focus to Friday's crucial clash against Guinea, knowing another victory would draw them level on points with the group leaders and significantly strengthen their chances of advancing to the second round.
The triumph also marked a winning start for Fizdale, the two-time NBA champion and former Miami Heat assistant coach, who was appointed in May to revive Nigeria's faltering qualification campaign.
Reflecting on the performance, Fizdale praised his players' resilience while acknowledging there is still room for improvement.
"Collective and physical toughness down the stretch won us the game," Fizdale told the FIBA website.
"We did a lot of things wrong. We made a lot of mistakes that these guys have never made," he added.
The top three teams from each of the four qualifying groups will progress to the second round, scheduled to be played between August 2026 and February 2027.
The remaining 12 teams will then be split into two groups of six, carrying over their first-round results. The top two teams in each group, along with the best third-placed side, will qualify for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar.
