In the final moments of Nigeria’s exhibition game with Canada on Monday, the teams were neck and neck. The two teams are battling it seems on the edges of the FIBA World Cup medal picture and trying to make it to the knockout rounds to see what happens and give themselves a chance.
The two up-and-coming basketball nations are integrating some fresh young talent to a list of veteran stalwarts that helped establish them as solid basketball programs. They dream of doing a lot more.
But they will still rely heavily on their veterans to get them through.