Nigeria’s
D’Tigers recorded another upset in the ongoing FIBA Olympic Qualifying
Tournament in Venezuela when they defeated European powerhouse Greece
80-79 in the second quarter-final match played on Friday.
D’Tigers had advanced to this stage from Group B,
where they lost to hosts Venezuela 71-69, before beating one of Europe’s
best, Lithuania, 86-80 in the final group game.
It was Greece that started the onslaught on Friday
right from the jump ball, but D’Tigers fought back to finish the first
quarter 21-21. The Greeks took control of the second quarter as they
scored 21 points against Nigeria’s nine.
Nigeria came back strong in the third quarter,
finishing on a high 20-14 as Anthony Skinn and Al-Farouk Aminu lifted
the team’s spirit with penetrating passes and powerful dunks.
The game looked almost lost to the Nigerians with
three seconds left on the clock, but Ade Dagunduro drew a foul that
earned two free throws to close the fourth quarter 30-23.
Olympiakos point guard, Vasileios Spanoulis, had a
game-high 25 points and seven rebounds, while Nigeria’s Ike Diogu of
Capitanes de Arecibo had 17 points and 12 rebounds to his name.
In the first quarter-final game on Friday, Angola lost to Russia 80-65 to crash out of the tournament.
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