26th Afrobasket: Nigeria down Mali 84-59

Nigeria made a bold statement in group-A of the 26th edition of the FIBA Africa Championship for Men tagged; Madagascar 2011 Afrobasket with an 84-59 points win over Mali.

The Nigerian side coached by Ayo Bakare rose from a 20-22 points deficit in the first quarter to put paid to the ambition of the Malian from the second quarter through the last winning by 18-05, 18-14 and 28-18 points.

Nigeria dominated the Malian on the board with a total of 42 rebounds to Mali 23 while the Malian recorded 22 turn-over with Nigeria 16.

Derrick Obasohan led the Nigerian challenge with 15 points and 4 rebounds, Olumide Oyedeji showed great presence with 11 points and 8 rebounds, point guard Michael Umeh contributed 11 points 5 rebounds and 3 asists just as Ime Udoka added 10 points and 4 rebounds to give Nigeria a well deserved victory.