We saw American Wonder, D’Tigers confess

The Americans, who were mainly millionaire players from the prestigious NBA, knocked off D’Tigers 156-73 in the highest scoring basketball game in Olympic history. Nigeria set the record for conceding more than 100 per cent of the points scored by a team. It was a game in which Olympic scoring records were broken across the […]

The Americans, who were mainly millionaire players from the prestigious NBA, knocked off D’Tigers 156-73 in the highest scoring basketball game in Olympic history. Nigeria set the record for conceding more than 100 per cent of the points scored by a team. It was a game in which Olympic scoring records were broken across the board.

“The mindset was we wanted to win the game, but we ended up beating hands down,’’ said Nigerian centre, Ike Diogu during a radio interview monitored in Lagos.

Whatever happened, the Nigerians had run into a perfect storm. Resistance was futile. “It was like open gym out there for them,” Nigeria’s Tony Skinn said with a sigh.

Another report on BBC site have it that It was uneven, unpleasant and a reminder of the gap between the United States and most of the world when the Americans are resolved and relentless. The superstars kept coming in waves upon waves on Nigeria, whose players became more spectators than participants in the devastating defeat. The United States had 49 points after a quarter, 78 at halftime, and Nigeria let themselves become innocent bystanders.

“On the one side, it’s terrible to get whipped like that,” Nigeria’s Koko Archibong said. “But on the other side, it was something impressive to be a part of – impressive to witness in person.”

The only Nigerian putting up a meaningful fight was Diogu, a former NBA first-round pick who showed leadership and a stubborn post game by scoring 15 points in the first half on his way to 27 overall (11 of 17).

“It all just depends on your mindset coming into the game,’’ Diogu said when asked if any team could beat the U.S. “You’ve got to be really focused. You’ve got to play mistake-free basketball. But when they shoot like this, I don’t know if there is any team that can beat them.’’