Wednesday’s Round of 16 action at the ongoing AfroBasket 2015 in Tunisia was business as usual for Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, as they advanced to the Quarter-Finals for the 11th consecutive time after trouncing Mozambique 83-47.
Despite the best efforts of Augusto Matos, Mozambique never posed a real threat as the Western Africans led for all of 20 seconds.
Matos, the only player to score in double digits for his team, finished with a joint game-high 14 points, but that wasn’t enough to avoid elimination for the Mozambicans.
Alade Aminu led Nigeria with 14 points of his own while Olaseni Lawal contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Nigeria will take on Gabon in the Quarter-Finals on Thursday.
Turning Point: Nigeria dominated the contest throughout, and although Mozambique used a 6-0 run in the third quarter to show signs of life, the Nigerians clearly had more options to close out the game.
Stats Don’t Lie: As a result of Mozambique’s small line-up, Nigeria came up with a 55-29 rebounding advantage. But Mozambique’s tendency to favour one-on-one plays also damaged their aspirations as they turned the ball over 20 times.
Game Hero: Matos accounted for three of Mozambique’s four three-pointers, made all his three free-throws, but it wasn’t meant to be Mozambique’s turn to reach the Quarter-Finals for the first time since 1995.
The Bottom Line: Mozambique’s small line-up proved costly once again, as they never posed threat in the paint. Nigeria’s athleticism made a significant difference in the outcome of the game.
