FIBA World Cup: Loss of concentration cost us victory against Russia – Okogie
D’Tigers Josh Okogie has stated that loss of concentration in the last quarter cost the Nigerian team victory over Russia.
The Nigerian team lost 82-77 in a game it bossed for the long spell, allowing the Russians to rally in the last quarter to snatch victory from the jaws of the D’Tigers. The Nigerian team took an eight point lead to the final quarter but crumbled under heavy pressure from the Russians.
Okogie, who led the floor with 18 points, stated that allowing the Russian score three uncontested three pointers in the dying moments of the game worked against the Nigerian team.
“We wanted to make them take contested two pointers, and we’ve been doing that successfully. Then, we allowed them three easy threes. When you allow a team like Russia three threes straight, they will punish you,” Okogie stated.
Russia survived a tight battle with Nigeria but would have been well beaten if the Nigerian team’s defence didn’t crumble tale in the game.
Mikhail Kulagin propelled Russia with 16 points, while TCL Player of the Game Andrey Vorontsevich scored 14 points, Andrey Zubkov added 12 points, four rebounds and four assists and Vitaly Fridzon chipped in 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Nigeria’s veteran star Ike Diogu was scoreless in 16 minutes of action.
Russia trailed 71-63 with under 6 minutes to go but used the full court press to charge back into the game with a 10-0 run to take the lead. Russia proved the better finishers down the stretch as they connected on seven of eight free throws in the final 32 seconds and benefited from an unsportsmanlike foul on Okogie with 10.6 seconds to play.
Vorontsevich saved his best for the final quarter, having totalled just five points in the first 35 minutes. Then he had 5 points in the big 10-0 spurt to change the momentum and added 4 more points in the final 2 minutes, finishing with 14 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
Russia converted 11 of 27 three-pointers for 41 per cent while Nigeria lagged behind at 7 of 21 for 33 per cent. Russia also forced Nigeria into 21 turnovers.
Nigeria’s task doesn’t get any easier as their next game is against Argentina who they play on Monday.