Tochukwu Chukwu
Saturday saw one of the biggest upsets in basketball history after Nigeria defeated the US national team in a warm up for this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.
Nigeria came out 90-87 winners against the USA in Las Vegas, inflicting their first ever defeat to an African nation.
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The victors were a side void of big NBA stars, while the US team was full of All-NBA, All-Star and max-contract players.
“We just wanted to compete,” said Nigeria and Miami Heat’s Gabe Nnamdi.
“We know what USA Basketball means around the world and what they’ve stood for so long.”
Kevin Durant led Team USA’s scoring with 17 points, but scored just four of 13 shots from the field. Jayson Tatum notched 15 points and seven rebounds while Damian Lillard managed 14 points and four assists.
Team USA’s shooting was poor throughout the night, as they converted just 26 from 63 attempts – a 41 percent completion rate.
They failed to equalise when trailing by three points in the closing moments and fell to a humiliating defeat.
To see just how shocking this result is, you only have to look at the scoreboard when these two met at the 2012 London Olympics. The United States ran out 156-73 victors, winning by an incredible 83-point margin.
They two sides met again for an exhibition match in 2016 which the USA won 110-66.
Miami Heat’s Nnamdi scored 21 points as he led his side to this historical victory, with Nigeria also winning on rebounds by 46-34 and hitting 20 of their 42 triples.
Caleb Agada scored 17 points for Nigeria and Ike Nwamu got 13.
The USA will be looking to get back to winning ways on Monday as they face Australia in Las Vegas.
Chidiogo asuke
