Nigeria 108-66 Korea Republic
Nigeria came out firing on all cylinders as they annihilated Korea, 108-66, in their last game of the group phase in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
With both of these teams having suffered two losses in a row, Nigeria and Korea’s FIBA World Cup 2019 odds of making it far have taken a huge hit and this game served as a way to salvage some pride coming into the classification stage.
After a nip-and-tuck first period, the Alexander Nwora-mentored squad unleashed a 10-0 blast to grab the sizeable advantage. They continued to add on to their scoreboard and the Koreans never threatened from there.
Eric Micheal led the way with 17 points while Ike Diogu, Chimezie Metu, and Ben Uzoh chipped in 16, 15, and 10 respectively for the Nigerians.
On the other hand, Ricardo Ratliffe continued his strong campaign by posting an 18-point 11-rebound double-double. He was backstopped by Seounghyun Lee who tallied 12 markers and six boards.
SBOBET takes a look on some of the best FIBA World Cup 2019 highlights in this match.
Highlights of the game
Ricardo Ratliffe kick started the game with his personal 5-0 run where he made spectacular plays on both ends of the floor. The naturalized reinforcement blocked Al Farouq-Aminu’s layup on one end, and then showed off his deft touch with back-to-back outside jumpers.
Nigeria answered via a run of their own by pulling out stops on defence. NBA cagers Al Farouq-Aminu and Josh Okogie were able to convert points off of Korea’s turnovers to put themselves back into the game.
The men in green had their share of missed shots at the rim. However, their rebounding fueled their run in the first period. Meanwhile, the Korean’s three-point shooting was spot-on so far.
In what was an impressive sequence, Eric Micheal managed to score an and-one off of second chances after some missed shots midway in the first period.
South Korea continued to rely on Ricardo Ratliffe for their offence and he continued to torch his defenders with a boatload of moves in the low post.
Chan Hee Park made some key plays for Coach Sang Shik Kim by drawing fouls on back-to-back occasions after getting some stops. The 32-year-old veteran, however, only scored four points in this game as he missed some of his free throws.
Fast forward to the second quarter, Nigeria scored 10 unanswered points sparked by multiple three-point shots by Josh Okogie.
After a fastbreak layup to stop the bleeding for Korea, Ike Diogu imposed his will down low for an and-one to put them up by 15 points.
Nigeria continued to score off of threes and from transition to cap off their dominant second period. They annihilated Korea in the second half as they watched their lead balloon up to as high as 42 points.
The interior duo of Eric Micheal and Ike Diogu led the charge in the first half for the squad. However, it was guards like Chimezie Metu and Ben Uzoh who got their scoring going in the second half. Both of them poured in double-digit points while shooting above 50-per cent from the field.
The Korean defence was too concerned to not let Josh Okogie get his usual numbers in this game, but he found his open teammates with his five assists. The Minnesota Timberwolves guard also lived up to his reputation on defence by tallying four steals and a block.
Meanwhile, Al Farouq-Aminu also showed out with his all-around game. The Portland Trail Blazers forward tallied nine points, five rebounds, and three assists.
Overall, the Nigerians were simply too good in this game. Their plays were executed to perfection and they managed to use their size advantage to overwhelm their opponents.
Key statistics
Nigeria shot well from three-point distance compared to Korea. The men in green knocked down 15 out of their 30 attempts (50-per cent) while the Asian powerhouse converted 11 out 32 from there (34-per cent).
The hot-shooting Koreans failed once again failed to score more than 75 points in this game while this was the highest scoring output for Nigeria in the tournament.
Nigeria outrebounded and outhustled Korea in this game. The former poured in 55 rebounds, 10 steals, and five blocks as a unit. They also took care of the ball well with only 10 turnovers compared to 16 for Korea.
What’s next?
The Nigerians will kick off the classification round by facing African rivals Ivory Coast on Friday at the Guangzhou Gymnasium.
As for South Korea, they are set to go up against the loser between the upcoming matchup between the China and Venezuela (happening later) at the same venue and date. China lost its previous match against Poland while Venezuela won handily against Ivory Coast.
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