Nigeria vs USA Basketball: ‘We Just Wanted To Compete’, Says D’Tigers’ Gabe Nnamdi After Impressive Win

Gabe Nnamdi (also called Gabe Vincent) says he is delighted to help D’tigers secure a morale-boosting win over the United States of America (USA) in their backyard.

The Miami Heat Point guard led Nigeria with 21 points, followed by Caleb Agada who's scored 17 points on the night. Ike Nwamu also contributed 13 points as  Nigeria outscored the U.S. 60-30 from the 3-point range.

These players’ output in the early hours of Sunday meant the West Africans defeated the U.S. national men’s team, 90-87 in an exhibition game in Las Vegas, U.S.

It is also the first victory for an African side to defeat the basketball superpower, which is also Olympics bound.

Nigeria first met the U.S. team in the 2012 Olympic Games, where D’tigers lost 156-73 — a whopping 83 points loss and 110-66 when both sides met last.

The Nigerian team, led by Head Coach Mike Brown were highly competitive in the game, boasting eight players with vast experiences in U.S. NBA club sides.

In the game, Kelvin Durant led the floor for the U.S. side with 17 points.

The exhibition game was put together to fine-tune both team’s preparations for the forth coming basketball event in the Summer Olympics, holding in Tokyo, Japan.

Gabe

“We just wanted to compete, We know what USA Basketball means around the world and what they’ve stood for so long,” Gabe told the press.