Chad recorded its first victory in the 2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket tourney following a narrow 59-50 triumph over Nigeria on Friday in their group stage outing.
Needing a win to keep its flickering quarter-final hopes alive, both sides got to a defensive and slow pace as neither could get clear scoring chances.
After Chad ended the first quarter at 11-12 down, the West Africans extended their lead midway into the second via Djibrine’s trey, which pushed them ahead 29-23 at half-time.
Chad went ahead by six as it opened third stanza of the quarter with a run of 6-2, prompting Nigeria to call for a timeout to try to disrupt Chad’s flow.
Nigeria’s Victor Sunday, who accounted for the majority of their efforts with a game-high 22 points in addition to 10 rebounds and three assists, couldn’t drag his team into a rally
For Chad, Djibreine would score 17points and collect as many rebounds. Ndohoudou Timothee had a decent all around match contributing 15points, 8 rebounds and six helpers while team captain YAYA Ngaba recorded the all time re bounds of the tournament (2026) with his 21rebound , 15 pts along four blocks; until when he was disqualified on less than 3 minutes of the fourth quarter due to foul.
The Central Africans firmed up their play down the stretch to win an immense match, keep there dream of qualifying for a fourth quarter-final match alive since 2006, as they held off a surging last attempt from Nigeria down the stretch. Head coach Asnal Noubaramadje was elated as he applauded his team for being resilient.
