Nigeria, Aug. 31 -- Nigeria's head coach, David Fizdale, believes D'Tigers' emphatic 100-84 victory over Cape Verde was exactly the result his team needed to keep their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup alive.

Nigeria entered Sunday's crucial African qualifier with their record evenly split at 4-4, leaving little room for error in the race for a place at the World Cup in Qatar.

With the qualification campaign entering a decisive phase, Fizdale's message to his players was straightforward: get the fifth victory and remain in contention.

D'Tigers responded in emphatic fashion, producing one of their most impressive offensive displays of the qualifying campaign to reach the century mark and improve their record to...