November 28, (THEWILL) — Coach Adel Tlatli declared Oussama Marnaoui and Omar Abada amongst Africa’s finest players following their dominant display in Tunisia’s 88-78 overtime victory against Nigeria at Salle Omnisport in Rades. The duo accounted for 54 points between them, with each player sinking five shots from beyond the arc.
The victory preserved Tunisia’s flawless record at the Rades venue, where they last tasted defeat over a decade ago during the 2015 AfroBasket semi-finals against Angola. Their 17th straight home win came after a disappointing recent AfroBasket campaign had left the squad determined to restore their standing.
Nigeria’s 59-40 rebounding advantage proved insufficient to overcome their careless ball-handling, which allowed Tunisia to capitalise with 27 points off turnovers. Talib Zanna’s 22 points led the visitors, supported by Morris Udeze’s 10, but Stan Okoye’s late three-pointer that forced overtime at 73-73 only delayed the inevitable.
The additional period belonged to the home side. Abada struck from long range to put Tunisia 78-76 ahead, before Marnaoui’s three-pointer with 60 seconds remaining established an 83-76 cushion that Nigeria could not overcome.
Abada credited the collective effort rather than individual brilliance. “We wanted to win more than they did. Everyone contributed to the win, not just me and Marnaoui, but also Achref Gannouni and Jawhar Jawadi. Our bigs set good screens, too. It is a team win. We have to continue this way,” the veteran said.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
