In the final qualifying tournament for men’s basketball at the London Olympics, home team Venezuela slipped by Nigeria 71-69. Greivis Vasquez led the South Americans with 24.

At the end Nigeria had herself to blame as she failed with her comeback due to sloppy finishing and fell to hosts Venezuela by a lone basket 71-69 last night in the OQT.

Trailing repetitiously to the South Americans-sometimes in double figures- D’Tigers simply refused to wilt and clawed their way back into the game over and over. .

But it was not to be as NBA star and top scorer Vasquez and friends proved too much despite horrible shooting from the line. .

However it was not all bad news for Nigeria who now face an uphill task getting past giant Lithuania in their next game.

Both relative unknowns Ibekwe and Aminu had monster games and one can only question why Ibekwe was left so long on the bench..

His game -despite him missing the final basket that would have tied the game - shone just like his neon yellow shoes, as his tenacity infected the West Africans in the 2 final quarters.

Three teams will claim the final berths for the Olympics, and Greece, Lithuania and Russia are viewed as the favorites. Group play ends Wednesday with the quarterfinals on Friday, semifinals on Saturday and the final match on Sunday to decide the remaining spot.

(Snipped from these two articles):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/russia-greece-angola-and-venezuela-win-opening-games-in-olympic-qualifying-tournament/2012/07/02/gJQA8WSUJW_story.html#

http://www.supersport.com/xtra/basketball/news/120703/Vasquez_and_friends_derailDTigers