NIGERIA’S D’Tigers have been sent packing from the 2025 AfroBasket following a 91-75 defeat to Senegal in Luanda, Angola tonight.
D’Tigers became the second team to reach the quarter-finals undefeated — after Côte d’Ivoire — to see their AfroBasket title aspirations come to an end.
Brancou Badio led Senegal in scoring with 32 points to see off the 2015 champions.
An exciting opening quarter saw Senegal and Nigeria tirelessly trading blows, but D’Tigers led 24-23 after seven lead changes.
Jean Jacques Boissy hit a three-pointer on Senegal’s first possession of the second quarter to give them a 26-24 lead.
Another three-pointer from Amar Sylla extended Senegal’s lead to 29–24, and D’Tigers never led again.
Senegal maintained their momentum with a 13-5 run before D’Tigers called a timeout to minimise the damage.
However, there wasn’t much they could do, as Senegal appeared to be relentlessly dominant.
Senegal led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter, and will take on Mali in the semi-finals. They had previously beaten Mali 80-70 in Group D.
Senegal, the tallest team in the 2025 AfroBasket, used their height to their advantage, out-rebounding D’Tigers 53-35.
However, it was Senegal’s 24-point lead in the third quarter that hindered Nigeria’s chances of progressing.
With the victory, Senegal return to the AfroBasket semi-finals for the fifth time, the first since the 2013 edition of the tournament in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.