Nigeria's men's basketball team, D'Tigers, have qualified for the 2025 AfroBasket tournament after being on the brink of missing out, thanks to three wins from three in the final round of qualifying this weekend.
The triple win hauled Nigeria from the brink of AfroBasket ignominy as D'Tigers secured their spot at the tournament, with wins over hosts Libya, Uganda and Cape Verde, all three teams they lost to previously.
Nigeria were on the verge of missing out on Africa's premier basketball competition for the first time in 32 years, after having gone 0-3 in their previous qualifying window. They went into this final window knowing that only a full house would guarantee their ticket to Angola.
A first step towards that objective was a complete roster overhaul. Their last series was prosecuted with just two overseas players, Devine Eke and Mike Nuga. That changed this time. Although the NBBF did not include any NBA-based players, the current team still had a significant number of players playing professionally abroad.
They were led by captain Ike Nwamu, who said the thought of not qualifying was so embarrassing it was not even an option.
"That thought never really crossed my mind," said the France-based player, despite how precarious the situation was. "I knew we would qualify because I knew what type of players we had, what type of staff we had and what type of preparation we did.
"And I didn't want to live with that disappointment because I would have been very embarrassed, as we should be, because of our basketball history."
But Nigeria's basketball chops has never been the issue. Administrative infighting and financial drama have traditionally hobbled on-court performance. While things remain on shaky ground, the NBBF have so far continued to navigate the slippery slope without keeling over.
In the end, they accomplished their objective, starting with a close 89-82 victory over Libya, following that with a 72-62 win over Uganda and closing out with a 78-62 blow-by of Cape Verde.
Abdulrahman Mohammed, who masterminded these results, also coached the team to those three losses, and he reflected cautiously about the issues off the floor affecting the team.
He said: "When we went to Tunisia, we didn't get much time to practice, for a lot of reasons which I can't really say. We met teams that had put in more days of practice, more work.
"It's a team game, it's not something you just wake up and jump into the court and play. You have to build chemistry among the players, you have to do a lot of things, structure defensive and offensive schemes. We didn't get enough time to do that back in Tunisia.
"Fortunately, we were able to do some of that here and the result is there now for everybody to see."
Beyond that, he attributed the turnaround to something uniquely Nigerian: "There are two words for it: Naija Spirit.
"That's what we are, that's how we are built. We just keep going and we never give up."
Still, things looked a little precarious in their second game against Uganda, when they trailed for two of three quarters and went into the fourth quarter four points behind. Caleb Agada, whose team high 23.3 points and 19 assists per game helped propel D'Tigers to Angola, was the catalyst that sparked the turnaround.
"He set the tone and did an excellent job for us to come back into the game," said Mohammed. That "job" resulted in a 28-point swing for Nigeria, who dominated the quarter and won it 32-8."
"I know what it means to represent Nigeria," Agada said about his motivation for that monster fourth quarter. "I know what it means to the fans, I know what it means to the vets who no longer play. So every time I step on the court I just want to do my best to make the whole Nigeria proud."
He was so fired up he ended up fouling out, but even on the bench, Agada was urging his teammates on: "I tried to play well but I know it's not just about me, it's about the team.
"So just because I fouled out doesn't mean it is over. There were still seven minutes left in the game. Guys needed to be focused, guys needed energy so I had to do something. I couldn't just sit there and be frustrated or be upset. I owed it to the coach, I owed it to my teammates to do something keep their energy up."
That energy saw them rain down 20 points in a 45 second spell that sealed the win. Without that big quarter, things could have gone downhill for the Nigerians. A loss would have set them back disastrously, and could well have dampened morale for the final game.
"Before we came, everybody had one goal in mind, and that was to qualify," Mwamu said. "And if everybody has one goal in mind, then you have more energy. After that third quarter against Uganda, that's when we really found ourselves. And then we were able to do something special."
Having qualified for the AfroBasket, Mwamu says the team must now elevate their game and return to the top of African basketball: "The motivation was qualifying and getting to where we are supposed to be. Since I have been in the national team, we have always been at the top of Africa.
"Personally I have only lost two games against African teams and both of those games were in that 2017 AfroBasket, so I want us to get back to that level of play."