South Sudanese male basketball team lost narrowly to Nigeria by 70-75 in the FIBA Afrobasket qualifier in Monastir, Tunisia.

The game featured a stellar performance by debutant Nuni Omot who racked up impressive statistics to push through for a win, albeit it was unsuccessful.

He bettered Nigeria’s star man Ike Ireogbu on points by scoring 27 points against latter’s 16 but the two players tied on efficiency.

South Sudan lost 9-18 in Q1 before winning the Q2 on a score of 21-20. The team then lost Q3 narrowly with 18-19 registering victory of 22-18 in Q4 but losing on the final score of 70-75.

‘‘We take the #1 team in Africa to the wire and just fall short! We go again tomorrow vs Mali Flag of Mali,’’ South Sudan Basketball Federation tweeted.

The team faces Mali on Thursday as it mounts campaign for the FIBA Afrobasket tournament in Rwanda.