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Nigeria pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far after stunning tournament-favorite Lithuania, 86-80, in Group B action of the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men in Caracas, Venezuela.
Facing elimination, the Nigerians played with a lot of sense of urgency, taking control of the game and led by double figures for several times in the game.
The Lithuanians, who are tipped to grab one of the three Olympic slots at stake in the tournament, threatened to make a comeback, but the Nigerians had answers for their run and fell short to absorb a stunning defeat against the Nigeria.
Derrick Obasohan had an impressive night as he finished with 20 points and shot 5-for-8 from beyond-the-arc, while NBA player Al-Farouq Aminu finished with 16 points and nine rebounds for Nigeria.
Despite absorbing defeat, the Lithuanians, still finished on top of Group B because of higher point differential than Nigeria, while Venezuela, who absorbed an 18-point defeat against Lithuania bid goodbye to their 2012 London Olympic hopes.
Meanwhile, New Zealand bounced back from a dismal performance to defeat former African champions Angola, 68-64, after getting crushed by Macedonia, 84-62, in their tournament-opener.
But despite scoring an impressive defeat, New Zealand fell short as Macedonia took the top spot in Group D followed by Angola, who both have better point differentials than the Tall Blacks.
Greece, on the other hand, topped Group A with a 98-84 win over Puerto Rico, who finished second in the Group, while Russia finished on top of Group C followed by the Dominican Republic.
The quarterfinals of the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be on July 6 as the qualifying teams take a rest today.
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