Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, suffered another defeat, losing by an 8-point margin, 70-62, in their second pre-Olympics friendly to Serbia on Sunday, July 21, reports Completesports.com.
Rena Wakama’s side began the first quarter in a quest to redeem themselves after losing their first pre-Olympics clash by a 14-point margin, 77-63, against Germany. However, they trailed behind with a 6-point deficit, 21-15.
Also Read: Paris 2024: D’Tigress Fall To Germany In pre-Olympics Friendly
The second quarter witnessed an increased gap as Serbia maintained their lead, extending it to a 10-point margin of 39-29 against D’Tigress.
Serbia’s resilience came to the fore during the third quarter as they stamped their authority with a 10-point margin, 55-45, forcing D’Tigress to scramble for a comeback in the fourth quarter.
Nigeria’s grit to reduce the deficit came close during the fourth quarter, but Serbia pulled through to maintain their lead and secure the victory.
D’Tigress’ loss to Serbia is their second in a row, but they will play their last friendly against Japan on Wednesday, July 24.
Ahead of the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, D’Tigress will make their third appearance at the games after debuting at Athens 2004 and qualifying for Tokyo 2020.
At both Athens 2004 and Tokyo 2020, they failed to go beyond the group stages.
By Dotun Omisakin
