AFCON 2025
Nigeria’s D’Tigers closed the second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers in style on Sunday, thrashing Rwanda 106-62 in Luanda, Angola, to complete a perfect three-game run.
Uche Iroegbu led the way with 17 points and seven assists. Caleb Agada, Ikechukwu Mekowulu and Stan Okoye each added 13 points as Nigeria dominated throughout, leading by as many as 46 points.
The scoreline mattered beyond the win itself. Nigeria entered the game with a minus-14 point differential from the first round and left with plus-30, a swing that carries forward into the next stage.
The result capped a turnaround under head coach David Fizdale, whose side overcame a 1-2 first-round record to finish the window 4-2 overall, having also beaten Tunisia 84-81 and Guinea 80-79.
Agada and Iroegbu set the tone early, hitting three three-pointers between them in the first minute, and Nigeria never eased off.
The 44-point margin was the largest recorded at that stage of the 2027 African Qualifiers campaign.
D’Tigers now advance to the second round, where 12 teams split into two groups of six carrying over their results, with the top two from each group plus the best third-placed side booking spots at the 2027 FIBA World Cup in Qatar.
