ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) – The FIBA Africa Zone 3 U18 Qualifiers came to a close on Sunday at the Palaise des Sports, Trechville in Abidjan with Nigeria making a dominant return to the Final Round scheduled for South Africa 1-14 September 2024.
Nigeria's win in the five-team battle saw the young D'Tigers win all four games on the cards recording wins against Liberia 82-49, Ghana 72-47, Benin 108-59 and Cote d’Ivoire 70-60.
The last time Nigeria played in the Final Round was in Rwanda in 2010 when the country finished a dismal 9th place. A return to the Final Round will make this their 12th appearance where they will be aiming to equal Egypt's 7 titles for most wins.
Coach Fubara Onyenabo and his crew left nothing to chance as he insisted that his focus before heading to Abidjan was to get the ticket to South Africa.
"We're glad we got the job done. The players will rest for a week and return to camp for the task ahead. Commendation goes to the players for remaining focused on the big picture of ensuring qualification for the Final Round," the Coach stated when FIBA.basketball reached him in Abidjan at the end of the Qualifiers.
Host Cote d'Ivoire finished in second place with a 3-1 record falling only to Nigeria in their 70-60 loss. In the other games, they defeated Benin 95-47, Liberia 92-61 and Ghana 79-56 and they will be hoping for a wild card based on a later decision on the number of teams that qualified.
Ghana put up a good showing managing a 6-man rotation to finish the Qualifiers after the disqualification of 4 other members of their squad. They ended the Qualifiers on a record of 2-2.
Liberia on their part finished in 4th place on a record 1-3. Their victory came in the 87-58 win over Benin.
The young Benin team came short in all their games on a record 0-4 but will return home with their heads high for the exposure the players got with an aim to build on the experience soon based on their deliberate effort to have a strong senior national team shortly.
FIBA