US Basketball coach Gregg Popovich has lauded Nigeria’s D’Tigers for their display against his team in a pre-Tokyo 2020 exhibition match yesterday.
Popovich who described his opponents as a ‘quality team’ claimed the loss for his side could be a blessing in disguise as his side seek a seventh gold medal at the quadriennial games.
Nigeria ran out 90-87 winners in Las Vegas to cause one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport to condemn the Americans to their first defeat to an African nation.
However, “I thought that the Nigerian team played very physically, did a great job in that regard, and knocked down a lot of 3s,” Popovich acknowledged the quality of the Mike Brown-tutored D’Tigers. “Give them credit.”
Popovich continued : “That’s a talented group of players. It’s not a bunch of people off the street playing basketball.
“Every year, teams are better and better, and every year, one or two or three more NBA players are on their teams, so they’re a quality team.”
The star-studded American team had beaten Nigeria 156-73 at the 2012 Olympics in London before recording a 110-66 win over the African side in an exhibition prior to Rio 2016.
Nigeria, led by NBA side Golden Warriors’ coach Mike Brown, were in superb scoring form as they netted 20 three-pointers on their way to the upset victory.
Nigeria will today in Las Vegas take on Argentina in another warm-up match.
