South Korea defeats Nigeria 77-60 in FIBA World Cup qualifiers

By Pius Ayinor

Korea secured a 77-60 win over Nigeria in a Group A game of the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Tournament on Thursday. The match was played at the Astroballe in Villeurbanne.

D’Tigress made the first two points through Sarah Ogoke. It was quite a competitive opening quarter; Korea seized control and never looked back, leading for over 31 minutes and steadily extending their advantage as the African champions tried hard to cover the gap. The Koreans won the first quarter 20-16 after trailing 12-16 at one point.

In the second quarter, the battle was fiercer, and it did end at 16-16 as the Asians maintained their four-point lead.

 The third and fourth quarter was not as good as D’Tigress would have loved. Korea won the third 22-19 despite the great effort of the Nigerians, and the last quarter, which the Nigerians lost at 19-9, made a lot of difference on the scoreboard.

Game heroes

Jihyun Park stole the spotlight for Korea, finishing with 22 points on 8-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from deep, along with 6 rebounds and 4 assists in 29:14 of action. She posted a 24 efficiency and a +17 plus/minus, anchoring Korea’s attack on both ends. For D’Tigress, Victoria Macaulay matched the game-high with 22 points on 8-of-13 from the field and grabbed 6 rebounds for Nigeria, but her 5 turnovers and -10 plus/minus reflected the team’s struggles during Korea’s game-changing run.

Korea’s biggest surge came with their 15-0 run late in the first quarter into the second, turning a 12-16 deficit into a 27-16 lead through collective effort on both ends of the floor. Nigeria’s best stretch was a 7-0 run late in the second quarter, narrowing the gap from 34-25 to 34-32, with all points coming from Macaulay.

D’Tigress will take on the Philippines on Friday in their match of the tournament.