D’TIGRESS HOLD FIRM IN WORLD TOP 10

By: Gyang Dakwo

Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, remain eighth in the latest FIBA Women’s World Rankings with 700.3 points, and they continue to stand as Africa’s only team in the top ten.

The new ranking was released on March 20, and it comes shortly after the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments.

During this period, Nigeria played several matches, and the results showed both strong wins and tough losses.

D’Tigress began their campaign in Lyon with a convincing 70 to 37 wins over Colombia, and this gave them a bright start. However, they lost 77 to 60 to South Korea, but they responded well with a 101 to 84 victory against the Philippines.

They also pushed France in a strongly contested encounter, but they lost 93 to 86, and they later fell 81 to 73 to Germany. Before the qualifiers, they played a friendly match and lost narrowly 77 to 76 to Turkey.

At the top of the rankings, the United States remain number one, while France have moved into second place ahead of Australia. China and Belgium complete the top five teams in the world.

In Africa, Mali is ranked 18th in the world, and they are the only other African team in the top twenty. Senegal sits in 22nd place, while Mozambique and Cameroon are ranked 34th and 37th. D’Tigress have held their place among the world’s best, and they continue to show that they can compete at the highest level, while also carrying Africa’s hopes