By: Chinedum Ohanusi
Oussama Marnaoui and Omar Abada delivered a ruthless reminder of why Coach Adel Tlatli calls them “two of the best”, as the pair powered Tunisia to a 88-78 defeat of Nigeria’s D’Tigers in their opening match of the African qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
The duo were dominant, and simply unplayable on an electric night, that saw Tunisia extended their unbeaten home streak to 17 straight games.
The Carthage Eagles out duelled Nigeria 88–78 in a dramatic overtime showdown that had the crowd seated at the age for long spells, before finally exploding in relief.
Still haunted by a disappointing 2025 AfroBasket campaign, and desperate to restore their aura, Tunisia played with a ferociousness that Nigeria struggled to contain, and more crucially, it was the duo of Marnaoui and Abada that were largely unstoppable, combining for 54 points, and dropping a total of ten three-pointers, while hitting the biggest shots of the match, when it mattered most.
With Tunisia clinging on to hope, late in the fourth quarter, Marnaoui drilled a cold-blooded three to push Tunisia ahead 73–70 with just over a minute left. But Nigeria — led by the ever-dangerous Stan Okoye, refused to fold and his clutch triple with 15 seconds left forced thr overtime, and silenced the vociferous home fans, in the arena.
But the Over Time belonged entirely to Tunisia’s veteran guards – Abada struck first, burying a tough jumper for a 78–76 lead; and Marnaoui delivered the dagger by dunking another long-range shot that sent the arena into a frenzy and stretched the gap to 83–76.
From that moment, the resistance of Nigeria coaches by Mohammed Abdulrahman fizzled out, and hopes of a comeback evaporated.
Though Nigeria dominated the glass 59–40, their turnovers were fatal, gifting Tunisia 27 points — a margin they simply could not overcome.
Talib Zanna’s 22 points and Morris Udeze’s 10 kept Nigeria’s D’Tigers competitive, but it wasn’t enough to crack the Tunisia in their Rades fortress – a packed Salle Omnisport, where they have not lost in over decade.
Meanwhile, Cameroun’s FIBA World Cup qualifying nightmares returned on Thursday as Cape Verde overturned a 0-10 deficit to stun the Indomitable Lions 82–77 in a fiery opener, that left Coach Alfred Aboya fuming after watching his team collapse for the second straight qualifying cycle.
He later told the media that there was no time for his players to cry or make excuses, before assuring that the team Africa knows must show up on Friday (today), when they play the Mediterranean Knights of Libya.
It had all looked perfect when Jordan Bayehe’s slick spin move sparked a dominant start — the kind of opening Cameroun desperately needed after years of disappointments.
But Cape Verde woke up, unleashed a barrage of three-pointers, and never looked back, as Joel Almeida and debutant Davide Buccilli hit daggers that flipped the momentum, and by halftime William Tavares had dragged the Islanders ahead 38–36, a lead they protected as treasure, for the rest of the game.
Cameroun’s perimeter defence fell apart, and they conceded 11 threes, while Cape Verde, once down by 10 points, surged ahead by 10 in the third quarter.
Landry Nnoko’s 14 points and the efforts of Eyaga, Bayehe, and Hill kept Cameroon alive, but Ivan (20), and Joel Almeida (14 points) slammed the door shut.
A frustrated Coach of Cameroun, Aboya delivered the verdict, when he said “defence wins championships. We can’t let opponents do whatever they want”.
