D’Tigers’ acting head coach David Vanterpool has praised his players for fully buying into the team’s game plan after D’Tigers completed a perfect second qualifying window with a dominant 106-62 victory over Rwanda in Luanda, Angola,
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The emphatic win saw Nigeria finish the Luanda window with a flawless 3-0 record, having earlier defeated Guinea (80-79) and Tunisia (84-81) to overturn a difficult start to their 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers campaign.
More importantly, the massive victory over Rwanda improved Nigeria’s points differential from -14 to +30, a crucial advantage heading into the second round, where all qualified teams carry over their results from the group stage.
Reflecting on the performance, Vanterpool credited his players for their discipline and commitment to the tactical approach.
“We came out with a few different schematics defensively. Our guys did an incredible job limiting some of their better players from getting the type of looks that they normally get,” Vanterpool said.
The Nigerian coach singled out Rwanda’s sharpshooter Justin Uwitonze, who was restricted to just three points after shooting 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.
“That is indicative of how our guys locked in on the game plan. They executed at a high level and stayed together through adversity.”
Nigeria established control from the opening minutes as Caleb Agada and Ike Iroegbu combined for three early three-pointers before D’Tigers stretched their lead to as many as 46 points en route to the biggest winning margin recorded during this stage of the African Qualifiers.
Forward Stan Okoye revealed that the team had discussed the importance of improving their points differential before facing Rwanda.
“We spoke about it the day before the game. The point differential matters for the next round, and the coaches emphasised it a lot,” Okoye said.
Despite the perfect outing in Luanda, the veteran forward insisted the mission remains unfinished.
“Going home 3-0 feels amazing, but the job is not done.”
Okoye, who has represented Nigeria since the 2013 AfroBasket, also reflected on what wearing the national colours continues to mean to him.
“Representing Nigeria means the world to me. Every time I wear this jersey is a blessing, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to represent my country.”
Nigeria now advances to the second round of the African Qualifiers with a 4-2 record and will face South Sudan, Cameroon and Cape Verde as they continue their quest for a place at the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
