Nigeria’s D’Tigers on Sunday emerged victorious against Mali in the ongoing Afrocan competition.
The Nigerian side got a wild card to take part in the competition in Angola, started the game strongly and secured 20-9 in the first quarter of their group B opener.
D’Tigers wrapped up the game in the final quarter with a 62-56 win.
The Nigeria team will confront the host Angola in their next game.
READ MORE: Afrocan Qualifier: D’Tigers Suffer Defeat To Guinea
With this win over Mali today, Nigeria has surpassed their record at the 2019 FIBA AfroCan, where they played 3 games and lost all three.
INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that the AfroCan (alternatively known as the FIBA AfroCan) is a men’s basketball continental competition in Africa, which is played biennially under the auspices of FIBA and the FIBA African zone thereof.
Unlike the AfroBasket, AfroCan is only opened to all players who play for basketball clubs based in Africa.
In 2017, a new calendar by FIBA changed the AfroBasket from a biennial to quadrennial tournament.
As a consequence, the AfroCan was created to vill up the void.
The first ever AfroCan was held in 2019 in Mali, with DR Congo winning the inaugural title after beating Kenya in the final.
The four highest ranked teams from the AfroCan 2019 were automatically qualified for the 2023 edition.
Eight other teams qualified through the qualification rounds, which are held from February to June 2023.
Nigeria’s D’Tigers received the only wild card for the tournament.
