Nigeria has been making their way up the ranks in Africa basketball and their national team took a huge leap last night defeating Gorgui Dieng and Senegal 88-79 in overtime to reach the 2015 Afrobasket finale.

The D’Tigers path to their first ever Afrobasket championship and an automatic bid to the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics as they meet the continent’s powerhouse in Angola, whom dispensed of hosts Tunisia 58-51 to qualify for their ninth consecutive championship game.

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This will be Nigeria’s first appearance in the championship in 12 years when they met Angola in the 2003 finals where the D’Tigers lost to 6-65 in Alexandria, Egypt in a bid for African basketball supremacy and a bid to the 2004 Athens Olympics.

With players like Chamberlain Oguchi, Ben Uzor, Olaseni Lawal and NBA player Al-Farouq Aminu, Nigeria is stocked and ready to compete. They’ll go against familiar faces in Angolan stars Carlos Morais, Yanick Moreira and captain Eduardo Mingas at Rades Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

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