TheCable

Sunday Dare, minister of sports and youth development, has praised Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team D’Tigers for their resilience in the last round of the FIBA 2023 World Cup qualifiers for Africa.

D’Tigers won two of their three games on Sunday, narrowly missing out on a place at the FIBA 2023 World Cup.

They finished in fourth place in their group where the top three teams booked automatic spots.

Nigeria had defeated Cote d’Ivoire 72-63 in the first game before beating Guinea 62-59 in the second game.

However, before their third and final game against Angola, reports were already out that the final World Cup ticket had gone to Cape Verde but the Nigerians still put up a credible showing despite losing 65-59 to the hosts.

“As painful as it is to narrowly miss out on the World Cup, we must appreciate the NBBF, the coaches, officials and players for their gallant performance. They played with honour and pride and gave this campaign their 100 per cent,” Dare said in a statement on Monday.

“Opportunity was given to the home based players and coaches to show their potential and they did not disappoint. I believe this will open them up to many more opportunities and exposure. With more time together, they will get even better and achieve more for Nigeria in future competitions.”