Nigeria become first African nation to beat US in Men Basketball

Nigeria stun US basketball team in pre-Olympic friendly game.

On Saturday evening, Nigeria, with six NBA players and former NBA head coach Mike Brown at the helm, became the first African nation to beat the US, who were playing the first of the five tune-up games before the Tokyo Olympics AlJazeera reported. 

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t mean much in the standings as far as where we’re trying to get to,” Coach Brown said.

He added, “But it’s a good win for us. I don’t think any African team has been able to beat USA Basketball in an exhibition game or a real game. We’re trying to get a little bit of momentum for Nigeria and for the continent of Africa”.

Nigeria’s win came nine years after the US crushed the Nigerians 156-73 at the London Olympics. Nigeria lost to the US again four years later in an exhibition, that time by 44 points.