Nigeria’s AfroBasket 2025 journey ended in heartbreak after D’Tigers bowed out in the quarter-finals, losing 91-75 to Senegal in Angola.
For D’Tigers’ head coach Mohammed Abdulrahman and team captain Ike Nwamu, the defeat was less about effort and more about failing to seize the moment.
“On a night we were supposed to bring our A-game, we fell short,” Abdulrahman admitted after the game. “I am not taking any credit away from Senegal, they deserve the win. I am proud of how we played. We have an identity now and we are just moving from it.”
Naija News reports that Brancou Badio and Jean Jacques Boissy combined to push the Teranga Lions into yet another AfroBasket semi-final, their fifth consecutive appearance since 2013.
For Nwamu, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow, especially after the team’s promising start to the tournament.
“It hurts. We had high hopes, we had a really good group, a fun group, we all love each other, but it’s part of the game, one team has to win, another team has to lose. It was not our day. They came out with more energy; we were kind of flat to start with. They are a really good team, they have lots of high-level players,” he said.
D’Tigers had raised expectations earlier in the competition after topping Group B with six points, defeating Madagascar, Tunisia, and Cameroon along the way. But against a seasoned Senegalese side, Nigeria struggled to replicate that form when it mattered most.
Back home, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has backed the team despite their unexpected failure to reach the final.
In a statement, the commission praised D’Tigers’ “resilience, talent, and passion,” assuring fans that the team’s performance was a stepping stone toward greater achievements.
The post “We Fell Short”: Coach Abdulrahman, Nwamu Reflect On D’Tigers’ AfroBasket Exit appeared first on Naija News.
