Nigeria’s men’s senior basketball team, the D’Tigers, have been knocked out of the 2025 AfroBasket tournament following a 91–75 loss to Senegal in their quarterfinal showdown at the Pavilhão Multiusos de Luanda in Angola on Wednesday, August 21.

The 2025 AfroBasket, the 31st edition of Africa’s premier national men’s basketball championship, kicked off in Angola on August 12, and the D’Tigers had an impressive run into the quarterfinal after they topped Group B by defeating Madagascar, Tunisia, and Cameroon.

High on confidence, the D’Tigers edged Senegal in the first quarter, claiming a slim point victory of 24-23. The Lions of Senegal, however, came all out in the second quarter which they won by 12 points at 30-18 to go 53-42 at halftime. Nigeria’s attempt to come back in the third quarter met stiff resistance from the Senegalese side, who won by 10 points at 23-13. The D’Tigers did eventually secure a win in the fourth quarter, winning by five points at 20-15, but it did not mean much as the game ended 91-75 in favour of Senegal.

The result ensured Senegal, five-time champions, avenged their loss to Nigeria in the 2015 semifinal, a tournament that the D’Tigers went on to claim as their first and only championship hitherto. It was also a response to the more recent loss their female counterparts suffered at the hands of Nigeria’s D’Tigress who went on to claim their fifth consecutive women’s AfroBasket title last month.

Senegal will now face Mali in the semifinal, with the winner of the all-West African clash set to meet either Angola or Egypt in the final.