Josh Okogie (R) of Nigeria competes with Lee Seounghyun of South Korea during the group B match between South Korea and Nigeria at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Sept. 4, 2019. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)
WUHAN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria smashed South Korea 108-66 here on Wednesday to snatch its first win in Group B but still missed out the chance of advancing to the round of 16 at the ongoing FIBA World Cup.
Having suffered two consecutive losses each before Wednesday's game, both teams ran out of possibilities to finish top two in the group to qualify for the last 16.
The two sides will next move to Guangzhou and play the classifications starting Saturday.
In Wednesday's play, former NBA player Ike Diogu earned 16 points and six rebounds for Nigeria, and Chimezie Metu added 15 points plus nine rebounds.
Thanks to Lee Jung-hyun and naturalized center Ra Guna, South Korea had a strong start into the game, leading by five points for their most in the first period.
Nigeria didn't find its rhythm until the end of the first quarter through Ike Iroegbu's layup. Josh Okogie and Diogu then helped the team score a 10-0 run in the midway of the second period, building a two-digit advantage.
The Nigerians ended the first half 49-31 in front, and their skills and physical advantages made the game beyond the Koreans' reach in the third quarter.
"That was definitely a big win for us. It was definitely nice to play our brand of basketball game and declared the swagger and confidence that we came into the World Cup having," Nnamdi Vincent of Nigeria said at the post-game conference.
"And you know, we still have a lot of games to play, still trying to qualify for the Olympic Games," Vincent added.
South Korea's Choi Jung-yong and Kim Sun-hyung were in a down mood and their performance as they were affected by the sad news of club teammate, 33-year-old Jung Jae-hong who died of a heart attack on Tuesday night in Seoul.
