Following the Afrobasket's increase to 16 teams, only the group winners will receive an automatic ticket to the quarterfinals, both teams will have everything to play for.
Coach Mike Brown realizes that winning the game puts his squad in a stronger position to do what they have set out to do in Kigali, especially with D'Tigers and the Ivorians on a two-game unbeaten streak against Kenya and Mali.
Although the Ivorians presently lead the group with more points scored, none of that will matter when the two teams meet on Sunday for the much-awaited match.
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Mike Brown, the D'Tigers' head coach, regarded his upcoming opponents as a well-coached team that will put up a strong and physical fight.
“I don't know because I haven't watched them for a long time. I am aware that they work exceedingly hard and are well-coached. We must go out and battle for 40 minutes.”
Nigeria defeated the Ivorians 83-66 in the classification round of the FIBA World Cup on September 6, 2019.
With Nigeria fielding a different set of players in Kigali, this result will be meaningless.
Brown stated that his squad cannot afford to be intimidated from a strategic standpoint.
“They have to be careful with the ball and avoid making unnecessary turnovers against a physical team. We have to keep them off the glass because they are a physical team that rebounds well, and we have to be careful with the ball because they get up there defensively.”
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