Nigeria, Nov. 28 -- Nigeria's D'Tigers opened their 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers with a painful overtime defeat on Thursday night, losing 88-78 to hosts Tunisia in Tunis despite a spirited performance that kept them in contention until the final minutes.

Coach Abdulrahman Mohammed's newly assembled 12-man squad-built on a mix of experience and emerging talent-showed flashes of promise but ultimately faltered under Tunisia's late pressure.

The tightly contested encounter, which ended 73-73 in regulation, slipped away in overtime as the home side outscored Nigeria 15-5.

Nigeria started strongly, taking the first quarter 15-12 through aggressive ball movement and interior dominance from Talib Zanna.

The exciting forw...