Our national basketball team lost the chance to advance to the Olympics Semifinals and claim an international distinction. It seems 2012 is just not our year in sports.
Nigeria eliminated heavily favored Greece, 80-79, to advance to the semifinals of the Olympic basketball qualifying tournament in Caracas, Venezuela.
Ade Dagunduro scored the last five points, including two decisive free throws in the last three seconds, for Nigeria. Ike Diogu led Nigeria with 17 points and Dagunduro had 14. Vasileios Spanoulis had 25 for Greece. It was Greece that started the onslaught on Friday right from the jump ball, but D’Tigers fought back to finish the first quarter 21-21. The Greeks took control of the second quarter as they scored 21 points against Nigeria’s nine.
Nigeria came back strong in the third quarter, finishing on a high 20-14 as Anthony Skinn and Al-Farouk Aminu lifted the team’s spirit with penetrating passes and powerful dunks.
The game looked almost lost to the Nigerians with three seconds left on the clock, but Ade Dagunduro drew a foul that earned two free throws to close the fourth quarter 30-23.
Olympiakos point guard, Vasileios Spanoulis, had a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds, while Nigeria’s Ike Diogu of Capitanes de Arecibo had 17 points and 12 rebounds to his name.
In the first quarter-final game on Friday, Angola lost to Russia 80-65 to crash out of the tournament.
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