Nigeria’s junior women basketball team, Junior D’Tigress, fell to Egypt 72-60 at the opening Group C match of the 2024 FIBA U-18 Afrobasket Women’s tournament in South Africa.
The game began with both teams living up to their reputations as African basketball powerhouses as Egypt narrowly edged out Nigeria by a single point, 21-20. In the first quarter.
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However, the pace slowed in the second quarter as Egypt began to assert their dominance, outscoring Nigeria by eight points to lead 43-32 at halftime.
Nigeria’s Junior Tigress showed resilience in the third quarter, managing to win by a narrow margin, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap. Egypt maintained their lead, entering the final quarter with a 10-point advantage at 58-48.
The fourth quarter saw Egypt continue their strong performance, ultimately securing a 72-60 victory. With this win, Egypt now sits atop Group C, while Nigeria is in second place. Uganda and Zimbabwe, the other teams in the group, have yet to play their opening matches.
Nigeria’s U-18 women’s basketball team had come into the tournament with high expectations, having dominated the qualifying series by defeating Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire in Abidjan.
The team, which previously reached the finals of the U-18 championship in 2008 and 2010, is eager to reclaim its former glory after missing out on the competition since 2010.
