Men’s FIBA AfroBasket: D’Tigers Begin 20th Campaign with 18-point Win Over Madagascar

Nigeria men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, defeated Madagascar 77-59 to get off to a winning start in their 20th Men’s AfroBasket Championship campaign on Wednesday, August 12, 2025, in Angola.

2025 BAL champion Caleb Agada led the charge with 22 points, Veteran/2015 AfroBasket winning Stan Okoye added 13, while Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu and Ike Nwamu added 10 and 12 respectively.

Nigeria struggled in the first two quarters, but took the game to Madagascar in the third and went off in the fourth.

The D’Tigers started strong in the third quarter, building a nine-point lead at 48-39. They scored through single free throws from Akonbundu and Okogie, a jump shot from Zanna, and four points from Agada. A three-pointer by Kiady Razanamahenina with 4:42 remaining in the quarter did little to slow down the Nigerian team. The D’Tigers added seven more points, ending the quarter with a 55-46 lead.

By the fourth quarter, it was clear as crystal that the Malagasy had no answers for Nigeria, and they were worthy of their 18-point victory.

Nigeria made good of Madagascar’s turnovers, scoring 13 points in the third quarter. The D’Tigers’ bench also joined in the fun with 13 points. Nigeria 23-for-54 in made field-goals, and they out-rebounded the Malagasy 36-38.

In what was the second meeting between the Nations in the tournament since 2011, it was the D’Tigers again that notched victory with a game-high 22 points from Caleb Agada.

Speaking after the game, Nigeria guard Caleb Agada, admitted to a below-par first half and attributed the win to the team’s ability to play together and rediscover their identity.

“We stayed together. The first half was not our best, but we came back collectively and decided to be progressive in the second half. We got back to our identity, which is rebounding, boxing out and playing defence. Those are the main things we focused on in the second half.”

The D’Tigers, ranked sixth in Africa and 42nd in the World, are in pursuit of a second title, having won the first in 2015 under the tutelage of Alex Nwora.

At the last tournament in Rwanda, Nigeria struggled and finished 12th out of 16 teams, marking their worst result in decades. However, in the second round of qualifiers in Tripoli, Libya, the team achieved a perfect 3-0 record.

Asides their most recent 2015 win, the D’Tigers have won silver on four occasions (1997, 1999, 2003, 2017) and bronze on three. (1995, 2005, 2011.)