Nigeria’s Under-18 men’s basketball team, the J’Tigers, faced disappointment as they were eliminated from the 2024 Afrobasket U-18 Championship after suffering an 81-70 defeat to Mali in the quarterfinals held on Thursday night.
Mali took control early in the game, leading the first quarter 23-19 and maintaining a narrow advantage with a halftime score of 40-38. Despite the J’Tigers’ attempts to regain control, Mali secured the victory in Pretoria, South Africa.
To reach the quarterfinals, the J’Tigers achieved a notable victory over Uganda, winning 72-61 earlier in the week, while Mali edged out Ivory Coast with a score of 73-69. The top teams from this championship will qualify for the upcoming FIBA World Championship in Switzerland.
In a contrasting performance, the J’Tigress advanced to the semifinals by defeating Egypt 61-56. They are set to face Uganda in the semifinals on Friday night.
In other results, Rwanda’s Under-18 men’s national team was also eliminated from the FIBA AfroBasket 2024 after a surprising 53-67 loss to Cameroon in their quarterfinal match at the University of Pretoria Gymnasium on Thursday.
Rwanda started strong, taking the first quarter 16-14, but Cameroon rallied to win the second quarter 22-16 and took a 36-32 lead into halftime. Although Rwanda managed to win the third quarter 17-15, they faltered in the final quarter, scoring only 4 points as Cameroon dominated to secure their spot in the semifinals.
Cameroon’s Amadou Seini led his team with 15 points and 23 rebounds, while teammate Hermann Bel Daryl Bay also contributed 15 points. Dylan Kayijuka was Rwanda’s standout performer, scoring 19 points, with Sean Mwesigwa adding 12 points. Rwanda will now have to compete in a classification game for positions 5 to 8.
