FIBA Men’s U18 Afrobasket: Mali v Nigeria in battle of heavyweights

Nigeria and Mali will face each other Thursday night for a semifinals ticket at the ongoing FIBA Men’s U18 Afrobasket in Pretoria, South Africa in what has been dubbed a battle of heavyweights.

The Nigerians qualified for the knockout phase in third place in their group albeit all top three teams finished on five points and the J’Tigers are now just a game away from clinching one of the two tickets on offer for the FIBA U19 World Cup next year.

The J’Tigers will rely heavily on Azeez Sulaimon who has been among the best performers in the tournament.

According to FIBA, Suleiman, a point guard, is fearless and a dynamo for the J’Tigers.

‘His 18 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists have helped bring Nigeria this far and another starring performance can take the men in green further,’ wrote FIBA in its preview of the game and also listed Isaac Ezekiel as another special talent within the J’Tigers’ arsenal.

Ezekiel’s 15 points and nine rebounds have contributed to Nigeria’s successful run.

‘Nigeria likes to impose itself in the paint and has posted 32.7 points per game. Points from turnovers (26 points per game) and fastbreaks (19 points per game) have been a staple for Nigeria,’ wrote FIBA and revealed the Malians biggest weapon.

‘Mali has relied on bench points (18.3 points per game) and second-chance points (21.7 points),’ said FIBA.