FIBA World Cup: Al-Farouq Aminu Leads Nigeria To Pass Ivory Coast For Second Victory In A Row

Team Nigeria edged past Ivory Coast for their second game victory a row after losing their first two with Nnamdi Vincent putting up 15 points and 2 rebounds within16 minutes of appearance on the court.

After losing their first two matches to Russia and Argentina, the Nigerian side is now a match away from qualifying for the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan and that will be determined in their next game against China.

Al-Farouq Aminu led the all-out-offensive play against the Ivorian side led by Deon Thompson, for game dominance from the jump through the stretch of the game alongside with Gabe and Udoh Ekpe, both who were also instrumental to the team's 83-66 victory to improve by 2-in-4 in their first group stage series.

The Ivorian staged a rally in the second and trimmed down the deficit to two points, but on their return from break, they met with a more revamped Nigerian side which made most of the third quarter and held on through the fourth.

Aminu picked up 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and his teammate Udoh had 13 points and five rebounds, but Thompson led the standouts in overall with 19 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. The Ivorian side has remained winless in four consecutive games and technically, they are already out of the Olympic qualification race.  They will face South Korea in the next match of the first group stage series.