Sport
D’Tigers lose to Mali for 2024 Olympics dreams to end ignominiously
Nigeria are no longer in the race for qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics after the D’Tigers exited the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Lagos winless on Tuesday.
The Nigerian senior male basketball team lost 68-77 on the second day of the tournament for Mali and Senegal to celebrate making it to the last four.
They led 17-15 and 26-23 in the first two quarters, then lost 16-18 and 7-24 in the last two quarters to put an end to their quest to qualify.
Mali will play their second group A game against Senegal at 6pm tomorrow to determine who tops the group as both teams have now qualified for the semi finals
Nigeria led Mali by as many as nine points in the first half, but what happened in the third quarter was an immeasurable disaster for the hosts.
The D’Tigers had stepped on the floor knowing that only a win would be enough to advance, after having lost 87-93 to Senegal on Monday at the Eko Convention Centre.
But Mali, who trailed 61-53 at the end of the third quarter, used a 16-0 run to stun the team which represented Africa at the last three editions of the Olympic Games.
In the meantime, Mali not only advanced to the pre-qualifying tournament’s semi-finals, but they also boosted their chances of making it to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament next year.
Uche Iroegbu led Nigeria’s stats with 26 points while Daniel Utomi, the other Nigerian to score in double digits, finished with 16 points.
Their efforts were however not enough to help Nigeria bounce back from the loss to Senegal the night before.
Twins Fousseyni Drame and Hassan Drame led Mali with 14 points apiece.
Mali will now close their Group Phase campaign against Senegal, who also advanced to the last four off the back of Mali’s victory.
Nigeria’s loss means Africa will have a new representative at the 2024 Paris Games.
In a recent interview, former Nigerian football star Yakubu Aiyegbeni has revealed that he continues to receive messages and criticisms from fans, years after his infamous miss during the 2010 FIFA World Cup match against South Korea.
The moment, etched into football history, occurred during Nigeria’s crucial group stage game against South Korea. With the score tied at 2-2 and a spot in the knockout stages on the line, Aiyegbeni found himself with what seemed like an open goal opportunity. However, to the shock of fans worldwide, he missed the chance, leaving Nigeria unable to secure the much-needed victory.
Despite this moment happening over a decade ago, Aiyegbeni expressed his surprise at the ongoing messages he receives about the miss. “I still get messages from people, different messages,” he stated in the interview. “It’s surprising how that moment still sticks with people, even after all these years.”
The striker, who had a successful career playing for clubs like Everton and Portsmouth in the English Premier League, admitted that the miss was a tough moment in his career. “Of course, it was a big moment, and I wish it had gone differently. But in football, you have highs and lows,” he remarked.
Serie A giants Napoli have announced the departure of coach Rudi Garcia after a poor spell and announced his successor with immediate effect
Reigning Serie A champions Napoli have announced the departure of French manager Rudi Garcia after a poor run of form that sees the Partenopei handing on to faint hopes of defending the Scudetto title won last season.
Napoli have only claimed one win in their last four matches in all competitions, trailing Serie A leaders Inter by 10 points while also trailing Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League by five points.
Osimhen gets new coach as Napoli reportedly appoint Walter Mazzarri to replace Rudi Garcia
With the Partenopei looking a lot worse than they did at this stage last season, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has chosen to act swiftly before things get out of hand.
The club chief revealed that Garcia had been relieved of his duty, after posting a message on social media platform X to announce the arrival of the Frenchman’s replacement.
Napoli announce Garcia successor
That replacement is a former Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri[url][/url], who was welcomed back to the club by De Laurentiis, who was also the owner during his last spell at the club.
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