Ogoh Odaudu, the head coach of the D'Tigers, has admitted responsibility for Nigeria's failure to advance to the semifinals of the current FIBA Africa Pre-Olympics qualifiers taking place in Lagos.

Senegal and Mali defeated Nigeria in both of the competition's games and as a result, Nigeria was unable to advance to the competition's final, which provides the competition's champion with the final African spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Odaudu said it was a challenging experience for him, especially as his team led in both games up until the last quarter of each game, after D'Tigers' 68-77 loss to Mali on Tuesday.

The D'Tigers on Tuesday won the first quarter by a score of 25 to 17, the second by a score of 43 to 38, and the third by a score of 61 to 53 before suddenly losing the game by a score of 68 to 77.

Odaodu said: “I have no explanation for the defeat of Mali. We have made mistakes and I take the blame.

“We did all we could to win on the court, but things did not work out. We did not have the best of preparations, but still, I take the blame. Hopefully, we move forward,” he said.