83-62！ The Nigerian men's basketball team defeated the Rwandan men's basketball team and won two consecutive African Cup of Nations qualifiers. In this campaign, "CBA old acquaintance" Ike Dioggu performed well, playing 19 minutes and 14 seconds, shooting 3-of-4 from two-point range and 4-of-5 from three-point range, and efficiently had 18 points and 6 rebounds, with plus-minus +16. In two non-preliminary games, Dioggu averaged 19.6 minutes per game, contributing 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists, shooting 44.4% from the field and 63.6% from three-point range, and he was the team's No. 2 scorer. Looking at Diogu, who is at the scene, it's hard to believe that he is already a 37-year-old veteran.
Although the Nigeria men's basketball team has a number of active NBA players, it was only in last year's World Cup that it put together a relatively complete lineup. For a long time, Diogu played a very important role in the Nigerian men's basketball team, being the core player of the team. The rise of the Nigerian men's basketball team, Diogu played a very important role. In the 2012 Olympic Games, facing the European and American teams, Diogu averaged 16.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, leading the Nigerian men's basketball team to break through and enter the Olympic Games for the first time. As he grew older, Diogu's athleticism, mobility, and physical fitness declined, but he was still able to play an active role with precise projection and extensive experience. In the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, Dioggu averaged 22.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, averaging 2.3 three-pointers per game and a three-point shooting rate of 45.2%, leading the team to runner-up. Last year's World Cup, the Nigeria men's basketball team lineup is luxurious, as the spiritual leader of the team, Diogu averaged 6.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, helping the team get direct Olympic tickets.
Diogu's career was not brilliant, but it was brilliant. At the 2005 NBA Draft, Diogu was selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 9th pick in the first round. In the six seasons of his NBA career, Diogu played a total of 225 regular season games, including 18 starts, averaged 12.4 minutes per game, had 6.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.3 blocks, and was a good rotation player. After leaving the NBA, Diogu moved to the CBA and joined the Xinjiang men's basketball team. In the 12-13 season, Diogu moved to the Guangdong men's basketball team to help the team regain the championship. Diogu played for the Xinjiang men's basketball team, Guangdong men's basketball team, Dongguan men's basketball team (Shenzhen men's basketball team), Tongxi men's basketball team, Sichuan men's basketball team in a total of 161 games, averaging 21.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. In the 17-18 season, Diogu joined the Sichuan men's basketball team halfway through, and at the age of 34, he handed over a beautiful statistic of averaging 28.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
Since 2012, Diogu has represented the Nigerian men's basketball team in 2 Olympic Games, 1 World Cup, 1 Olympic Tournament, 3 African Cups (non-championships), and he has been the banner of Nigerian basketball for a long time. Judging from the first window of the non-preliminary round, the 37-year-old Diogu still maintains a good competitive state. Maintaining its current form, Diogu is expected to be named to the Nigeria men's basketball team's 12-man roster next year, ushering in the third Olympic tour and the fourth African Cup of Nations trip.