Nigeria’s men’s senior handball team on Friday crashed out of the 2018 African Handball Championship in Gabon after their third at the competition.

The Nigerians lost 28-21 to DR Congo after their first two games against Angola and Egypt ended in 29-16 and 27-22 losses earlier in the week.

The team led by coach Michael Taanghar arrived Gabon on Monday for the competition, which ends on January 28.

After losing the first half 13-11, Nigeria failed to close the gap on their opponents and failed to correct their first half mistakes. They were further punished by the Congolese in the second half.

Nigeria are in Group B along with Egypt, Angola, DR Congo and Morocco. The first four teams in the group qualify for the quarterfinals.

Friday’s result leaves Nigeria last in the group with no point from three matches. Their last group game is against Morocco on Monday.

Angola top the group with four points while Egypt are second with the same number of points. DR Congo are third with two points after Friday’s win over Nigeria. Morocco are fourth with no point from two matches.

Winners and runners-up of the event will represent Africa at the 2019 World Men’s Handball Championship.