FIBA 3×3 Africa Cup: Nigeria eases into men and women’s last eight

FIBA 3×3 Africa Cup: Nigeria eases into men and women’s last eight By Idongesit Udo-Okpo Nigeria’s men and women teams at the FIBA 3×3 Africa Cup have both progressed to their respective quarter-finals following very similar results in the first rounds. The Men’s team led by Dike Azouma and Yaya Abdul avenged their qualifying round loss to Cape Verde with a 17-16 points win before blowing out Uganda by a massive 17 points margin in a 5-22 point-game. For the women’s team, recently crowned NWPBL Final 6 champions Nkem Akaraiwe and Nkechi Akashili charged them to a 17-12 points victory over Benin and squeezed past Egypt in a keenly fought 20-18 points game. On Saturday, Nigeria will continue its quest for a double championship win, when they play their respective quarter-finals fixtures. In furtherance of their title defense, the Men team will face Egypt while the Women team; losing finalist last year, go up against Niger. Victories for the Chris Acha-tutored teams will see them play in the semis on the same day. The finals of the competition is scheduled to hold on Sunday.