Nigeria, Feb. 24 -- The Nigeria senior men's basketball team, D'Tigers put up a spirited display Friday night in their opening game of the FIBA Afrobasket 2025 qualifiers but lost 82-89 to Libya.

There was uncertainty over the participation of D'Tigers before a last minute arrangement saw them arriving in Tunisia a few hours before their opening match.

With only nine players and no form of practice, the odds were heavily stacked against D'Tigers.

Libya made the most of their advantage racing to a 16-point lead in the first quarter which ended 25-16 in favour of the North Africans.

Though D'Tigers won the second quarter 19-15, the Libyans still maintained a healthy lead going into half time.

Libya extended their lead as they won the t...