Afrobasket U18 Qualifier: Resurgence Nigeria go past Liberia 59-34

Nigeria moved to the second spot of the four-nation FIBA Africa Zone-3 qualifiers for the 2012 Afrobasket for Under 18 Men billed for Maputo Mozambique in August this year with a 59-34 points win over Liberia in a reschedule Day-1 pairing at the Palais des Sport Treichville, Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire.

The young Nigerian side began the quest for a comfortable finish in the race for the sole spot for the zone with a 14 - 04 points win in the first quarter and followed it up with another good run in the second quarter with a 19 - 07 points for a half-time score-line of 33-21 points.

The Nigeria side lost steam in the third quarter thus allowing the Liberian to fought back losing the quarter by 07 - 10 points before rallying back in the fought and decisive quarter with a 19-13 points victory for a cumulative scores of 59-13 points for a 2-1 record with a point short of leader and host Cote d’Ivoire who has kept a hundred record since the qualifiers began last Sunday.

Nigeria forward Michael Nzie led his side challenge with a double double of 16 points and 14 rebounds; guard Hakeem Suleiman had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists with Musa mohammed adding 10 points while Prince Orizu grabbed 12 rebounds, 6 points and 3 block-shots to ensure victory for Nigeria.

Nigeria will Thursday take on the young Liberia in reverse fixtures at 16H00 while Ghana files out against host Cote d’Ivoire.