At the 2024 FIBA AfroBasket U-18 Championships in Pretoria, South Africa, Nigeria’s junior men’s basketball team, the Junior D’Tigers, will play Mali in the semifinals on Thursday.
Both teams are loaded with big men and guards, so the match, which begins at Pretoria University at 8 p.m., will be a heavyweight bout.
The Malians’ top player, Youssouf Traore (11 points and 17 rebounds), will need to show up if they want to make an impression on the Nigerians.
Sekou Bagayoko (14.7 points, four rebounds, and 1.3 assists) and Mamadou Traore (11.3 points per game and 3.7 rebounds), give the Sahel nation attacking options.
Mali have relied on bench points (18.3 points per game) and second-chance points (21.7 points).
Azeez Sulaimon has been among the best performers in the tournament. The 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.
Isaac Ezekial is another special talent within the Tigers’ arsenal; his 15 points and nine rebounds have contributed to their successful run.
Nigeria like to impose themselves 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.
To reach this stage, the Junior D’Tigers outclassed Uganda 72-61 on Tuesday, while Mali defeated Ivory Coast 73-69.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria duo Azeez Sulaimon and Ekpo Bassey are in the running for the Group Phase MVP in an ongoing poll conducted by FIBA on its official website.
Mali’s Youssouf Traore was also named among the best eight performers of the group stage and he has garnered 2% of the votes, the same as Ekpo Bassey, while Sulaimon has 1%.
Other players in the running for the prestigious award are Senegal’s Ousseynou Sambe, Mohammed Hussin of Egypt, Dylan Kayijuka of Rwanda, Aginaldo Neto of Angola, and Morocco’s Rayane Solhi.
