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Nigeria will face Germany in Group B competition at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 men’s basketball competition on Wednesday in Saitama, Japan. The two teams are reeling from losses in their respective tournament openers and need a win to open their account.
With only four teams in each group in the basketball competition at the Olympics this time around, every win is vital to keep teams in contention for the medal rounds.
Match Details
Fixture - Nigeria vs Germany | Tokyo Olympics 2020 Basketball.
Date & Time - Wednesday, July 28th, 10:00 AM JST (Wednesday, July 28th, 6:30 AM IST).
Venue - Saitama Super Arena, Saitama, Japan.
Germany Preview
Germany have NBA stars Isaac Bonga and Moritz Wagner on their roster, but their best player, Dennis Schroder didn't join them in the Olympics this year.
Nevertheless, Germany will have to prove that they deserve to advance with a win on Wednesday against Nigeria, who have a talented roster themselves. The Germans have tall players, with seven of them between 6' 8" and 6' 11", giving them the size necessary to bother Nigeria at both ends of the court.
Point guard Maodo Lo, Bonga and Wagner are three of Germany's best players, and they will all have to step up to help their team avoid a second-straight loss.
Also Check out: Nigeria Olympic Basketball Team 2021
Team News: Germany
Germany lost to Italy 92-82 in their opening game at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Lo scored 24 points for the Germans, with Isaac Bonga and Wagner contributing 13 and 12 points each.
It was Germany’s first game at the Olympics since 2008 in Beijing, but another on Wednesday would jeopardize their chances of progressing further in the competition.
Also Check out: Germany Olympic Basketball Team 2021
Germany Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Isaac Bonga l Shooting Guard - Andreas Obst l Small Forward - Niels Giffey l Power Forward - Danilo Barthel l Center - Johannes Voigtmann
Nigeria Preview
Gabe Vincent, KZ Okpala and Precious Achiuwa have the advantage of playing together during the NBA regular season for Miami Heat. That familiarity gives Nigeria an edge not many national teams have.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as the team is fielding a roster that has a total of seven players from the NBA, including Jahlil Okafor and Josh Okogie.
As the only African nation to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, Nigeria are carrying the pride of the continent with them in the competition. They are considered the second-best team in Group B, next only to Australia, with the faceoff against Germany on Wednesday a chance to prove their mettle.
Team News: Nigeria
Nigeria suffered an 84-67 loss to Australia in their competition opener. They couldn’t stop Patty Mills, who scored a team-high 25 points along with six assists, four rebounds and four steals.
The NBA veteran ran rings around his defenders and made Nigeria suffer a lopsided loss, which showed just how powerful Australia are compared to their Group B competitors.
Nigeria were led by Obi Emegano, who had 12 points (3 of 4 from the 3-point range), Okogie with 11 and Jordan Nwora and Achiuwa, who added ten points apiece.
Nigeria Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Miye Oni | Shooting Guard - Gabe Vincent | Small Forward - Josh Okogie | Power Forward - Chimezie Metu | Center - Jahlil Okafor.
Nigeria vs Germany Prediction
Germany will have their work cut out against Nigeria in their second Group B game at the Tokyo Olympics. Had they taken care of Italy, they wouldn’t have had to be as desperate when they take the court on Wednesday.
Though any team can be beaten, as Team USA showed loss to France proved, it’s unlikely Nigeria will lose to Germany. The Nigerians are loaded in almost every position, and they will likely have to implode to lose this match.
Nevertheless, both teams have a shot at making the top two to reach the quarter-finals. If they don’t, either Nigeria or Germany will have to go through to the next round via a more circuitous route - by being one of the two best-placed third teams.
Bank on Nigeria making it to the top two in Group B, as Germany possibly need a miracle to even land third place.
Where to watch the Nigeria vs Germany game?
Eurosport will have extensive coverage of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in Europe, as will Discovery +.
Peacock, the free streaming service of NBC, will show live games in the US. NBC is the sole distributor of Olympic coverage in the USA. They will distribute coverage across their family of networks, including NBC, NBC Sports, NBC's Olympic Channel, CNBC, USA and the Golf Channel.
The game can also be streamed on NBC's Olympic website, NBC.com or the NBC app.
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