Basketball
TUNISIA TOPPLES IRAN FOR FIRST-EVER WORLD CUP VICTORY
Their first-ever FIBA Basketball World Cup win puts Tunisia in position to advance to the next round. After losing their previous six games in the 2010 edition by an average of 24 points, the North African side weathered a late surge by Iran to win 79-67.
The inside-outside game of Salah Mejri and a full team effort were too much for Iran in their second World Cup encounter. Iran had won 71-58 in 2010. Michael Roll and Makram Ben Romdhane both added 16 points and 5 assists. Omar Abada’s 12 and Mourad El Mabrouk’s 11 gave balance to the Tunisian attack.
Turning Point: Knotted at 15 with 4:50 to play in the first quarter, Tunisia scored nine straight in a 14-4 run to create a space that they were able to manage through the rest of the game. There was a bit of a scare when Iran cut the lead to just five points with 5:51 to play but El Mabrouk’s trey followed by an Abada fast break finish restored the order.
TCL Player of the Game: Salah Mejri was big inside and outside for the Eagles of Carthage with 22 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots. The big man knocked down three of four three-pointers in the first quarter and went 5-of-9 for the game. Five of his boards were on the offensive end.
Stats Don’t Lie: Stats don’t lie. But they can deceive. Iran had a better shooting percentage, 46 to 42 percent, but they took seven less shots. Also, nine more threes made the difference for Tunisia, as they knocked down 13 compared to 4 by Iran.
Bottom Line: Iran looked like the late collapse to Puerto Rico may have shaken their confidence more than they would like to admit. Regardless, at the end of the day, Tunisia were the better team.
They Said: “It’s the first win in the country’s history, so we were all very excited about this game especially after a strange game against Spain. We took the lessons of that game and took it to heart. Everybody was really excited to play. You could tell by our energy, which was fantastic. Everybody performed.” – Tunisia shooting guard Michael Roll
“Our defense created problems. Their shooters didn’t have space to shoot or to penetrate. They are strong inside but we forced them to not go inside. We also did well with rebounding. The game against Puerto Rico is probably the most important in Tunisian basketball history. Our team is ready. We will prepare well. Our players are fantastic in attitude and defense. We fight. We are going to play very hard.” – Tunisia head coach Mario Palma
“We gave up a lot of three-pointers and made turnovers. We had good games before we came here and that gave us hope. We thought we could qualify out of the group. We had bad luck against Puerto Rico and after that tough loss we came here to do a better job but we faced some strange things in this game – five three-pointers from Mejri. We couldn’t expect that.” – Iran guard Mohammad Jamshidi
“It was unpredictable shooting from Mejri. He was like a sixth player with his downtown shooting. In the first half we gave up rebounding to him. The first game against Puerto Rico affected us.”- Iran head coach Mehran Shahintab
FIBA
Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.
The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.
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Basketball
NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman
The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.
The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.
” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.
” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.
” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.
” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.
The DG added that he does not doubt that Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.
” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.
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Basketball
FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers
The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.
A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.
Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.
FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.
Here is FIBA’s analysis: The return of the Tokyo Olympian has been a blessing for Abdulrahman Mohammed’s Nigeria.
For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.
The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.
Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and Nisre Zouzoua (Cote d’Ivoire)
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