Scotland made it four wins out of four in the Men’s Basketball competition as they went on to beat Nigeria 66-61 in Cairns on Tuesday night. The journey of the Scotland underdogs now continues to Australia’s Gold Coast, with Team Scotland set to face hosts Australia on Saturday in the semi-finals of the competition.

Speaking after the historic win, Scotland Captain Kieron Achara paid tribute to his team-mates: “This is a surreal kind of feeling, one that was definitely worth the wait. This was our goal and we believed it – but to execute it is a totally different thing. It is a phenomenal achievement; the guys have played outstanding.”

Achara, who missed out on the last Commonwealth Games in 2006, admits it has been worth the twelve-year wait: “Honestly, this is the proudest I have ever been. I am trying to live in the moment and enjoy it but we are still so determined. Our goal is to medal and we have two cracks at it now.”

Every player on Rob Beveridge’s twelve-man roster was able to experience the quarter-final action, including the team’s youngest player, Callan Low. The seventeen-year-old spoke of his excitement about going to Gold Coast to compete for a medal: “If you had had asked me this question two years ago, I would never have believed it could happen. I think we are capable of rising up to the occasion of playing Australia and it is going to be a fun environment to be in.”

The team will make yet more history as they transition down to Gold Coast to continue their preparation for Saturday’s semi-final where they will become the first Scottish team sport to have competed in a Commonwealth Games semi-final.