Nigeria Junior Tigress survived a late scare to defeat Uganda 71-67 in the semifinals of the U18 Afrobasket in Pretoria, South Africa, on Friday.
Idubamo Beggi, the only player who finished in double figures, shot a game high 23 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks.
Abigail Isaac added 8 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals, and 5 blocks to go with it.
Nigeria made up for the errors made against Uganda in the last group game. They held a 6 point lead at the break and stretched it to 10 points with 4:40 minutes left to play in the third quarter at 56-46.
The Ugandans fought hard in the fourth, closing down on the Tigress at both ends, but Nigeria held on to pick the win.
As a result, Nigeria have qualified for the 2025 FIBA U-19 World Cup in Switzerland.
J’Tigress will play Mali, who defeated Cameroon in the final on Saturday.
