RADES (Tunisia) - The contest between Cameroon and Nigeria in the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers was always going to be physical, with victory going to the team that could embrace and overcome the challenges.
Cameroon never missed a word in the memo and were proactive, especially defensively, right from tip-off. The reward was a 78-62 win to move to the top of Group E, with a record of 6-1.
For coach Alfred Aboya, the instructions were clear. Shut out the lane, leave with a contested 3-pointer. The execution from his charges was near-perfect as they limited Nigeria to 18 points or less in every quarter.
“We watched Nigeria from the last window, and we knew where they were dangerous; we knew they are dangerous in transition, one-on-one, and offensive rebounding. The game plan was to control that, and we did for the most part. At least we won two of those, but they still got 30 offensive rebounds; overall, the game plan worked,” the former Cameroonian international said.
For the D’Tigers, scoring 14 points in the opening quarter did not bode well. If anything, it showed a team that will struggle all game against the Cameroon set defense.
But coach David Fizdale was more than surprised, not by the defense but by how poorly his side shot the ball throughout the game.
“We could have played better. I would have never anticipated us shooting the ball that poorly, [but] you have got to give them credit; they did a great job defending us and executing their game plan,” Fizdale said.
D’Tigers were not any better at the defensive end, especially on the inside. Yves Missi got everything he wanted in the paint en route to a game-high 24 points. The big man also pulled down 9 rebounds and swatted 4 shots.
“We just need to be better. We did not do a good job on him at all. We left our guys on the island [with him] a lot of times, but we did not also take on the challenge well one-on-one,” Fizdale said.
For Caleb Agada, the loss was easier to process and pinpoint. Settling for the 3-pointer was a recipe for disaster.
“One of the biggest things about African basketball is settling for 3, and usually the teams that settle for them if they are not falling, they usually lose,” Agada said.
The challenge does not get any tougher for Nigeria as they face Africa’s top-ranked South Sudan on Friday afternoon. Another loss will severely damage the chances of the D’Tigers returning to the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Cameroon, now top of Group E, face hosts Tunisia.
FIBA