Nigerian women’s basketball team qualifies for Olympic quarterfinals

Ezinna Kalu scored 21 points as Nigeria made Olympic history by becoming the first African team, male or female, to reach the Olympic quarterfinals in basketball when it beat Canada 79-70 on Sunday.

The Nigerians (2-1) now wait to learn their opponent. They already have doubled the number of wins in pool play for a country that came to France looking for its first Olympic victory since the 2004 Athens Games.

They went to midcourt to start celebrating, with an assistant coach using her phone to record the moment. The Nigerians stopped to high-five the Canadians, then returned to celebrating with a midcourt huddle.

An assistant coach grabbed a flag from a fan for photos on the court, and the Nigerians took their time hugging and posing for more photos as they savored the moment.

Canada, ranked fifth in the world, leaves winless in three games, eliminated on the final day of group play for women’s basketball by a team ranked 12th.

Five countries came in already having clinched berths, led by the U.S. trying to win an unprecedented eighth straight Olympic gold. The others are Spain, Serbia, France and Germany. The draw setting the quarterfinals follows the final game between Australia and host nation France.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and went winless in Tokyo. This women’s team was denied access to Nigeria’s boat for the opening ceremony on July 26, and now it will play Wednesday in Bercy Arena on the banks of the Seine River.

Nigeria scored the first six points of the game. Captain Amy Okonkwo hurt her right shoulder early in the second quarter, colliding with Canada forward Aaliyah Edwards diving for a loose ball, and Canada took a 41-37 lead into halftime.

Okonkwo returned for the third quarter, when Nigeria opened with a 13-1 run. The Nigerians outscored Canada 23-5 in the third and took a 60-46 lead into the fourth.

Elizabeth Balogun added 14 points for Nigeria, and Promise Amukamara had 12.

Shay Colley led Canada with 17 points, Bridget Carleton had 13 and Kayla Alexander 12.

Belgium 85, Japan 58

Emma Meesseman scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Belgium routed Japan to clinch the first of three remaining quarterfinal berths. The Cats came together, hugging and dancing at midcourt, with some wiping tears from their eyes in celebration after the final buzzer.

Japan (0-3) was eliminated after winning silver three years ago at the Tokyo Games. The Japanese wiped away tears as they left the court.

This is the second straight Olympics that the silver medalist failed to medal in the next Olympics. Spain won silver in 2016 at the Rio de Janeiro Games, then lost to France in the quarterfinals in Tokyo.

Belgium (1-2) needed to beat Japan by 27 points to finish with a better point differential than China to keep playing. The Cats had a packed house trying to help, with Belgium a mere 20 miles (32 kilometers) away and China (1-2) watching the scoreboard through the final three games to learn its fate.

Japan led 4-2 in the opening minutes on a jumper by Rui Machada.

Antonia Delaere’s 3-pointed put the Cats ahead to stay, and they led 19-7 at the end of the first with the final margin the biggest concern. Japan didn’t make it easy as Belgium had a 20-16 edge in the second for a 39-23 lead at halftime.

The Cats outscored Japan 22-16 in the third for a 61-39 lead. Fans roared for each Belgium bucket, knowing the need to not only win but by the point margin. Elise Ramette’s 3 with 4:52 pushed the lead to the 27 points needed at 71-44, and Becky Massey hugged her to start a Japan timeout.

Ramette finished with 16 points, and Delaeare and Maxuella Mbaka Lisowa each had 12.

Saki Hayashi led Japan with 13, and Evelyn Mawuli added 12.

Additional sources • AP