Nigeria women national basketball team, D’Tigress, suffer 93–86 defeat to world number three team, France Women’s National Basketball Team, for their fourth match of the ongoing 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.
The game wey happen for Lyon-Villeurbanne, France see the host nation dominate the first half, scoring 57 points (29–21, 28–24) while Nigeria manage 45 points.
Even though the seven-time FIBA Women’s AfroBasket champions try bounce back in the third quarter, winning it 21–15, the early lead wey France take still give them advantage to finish the match 93–86.
The victory help France secure qualification for the main tournament wey go hold for Berlin, Germany in September.
Despite the loss, D’Tigress already don qualify for the World Cup as African champions and go play their final Group A match against Germany Women’s National Basketball Team on Tuesday.
Other teams wey already secure place for the global tournament include Australia Women’s National Basketball Team, Belgium Women’s National Basketball Team, United States Women’s National Basketball Team and host nation Germany.
Earlier for the qualifiers, Nigeria beat Colombia Women’s National Basketball Team 70–37 and defeat Philippines Women’s National Basketball Team 101–84, but also lost narrowly to South Korea Women’s National Basketball Team70–66.
Praise For D’Tigress Performance
Reacting to Nigeria victory against the Philippines earlier in the tournament, basketball promoter Igoche Mark praise the Nigerian team for their resilience and fighting spirit.
According to him, the performance show the strength and determination of the African champions on the global stage.
He also specially commend Murjanatu Musa, wey win the Most Valuable Player award for the game, saying her performance prove say Nigerian players get strong talent when dem get the right training and opportunity.
Mark also praise the coaching crew for their effort in preparing the team for the international competition.
