Bruised and Beaten, but Nigerians Are Unbowed
By Greg Bishop
LONDON — The buzzer sounded the end of the fairy tale, and
the Nigerian team limped off the court in slow motion, unwilling, unable to let
go. As they filed into the tunnel, the crowd stood in unison and cheered the
team they call D’Tigers.
Tony Skinn, the Nigerian point guard who went to George
Mason University, wound up in a hospital, having surgery for a torn quadriceps
Monday.
D’Tigers lost against on Monday, this time to France, standing ovation notwithstanding.
To their list of firsts — first Olympics appearance, first Olympics victory —
they had added something less historic: their first Olympic exit.
