AFCON 2025
D’Tigress opened their exhibition series in China with a narrow 70-67 defeat to the hosts in Haikou on Friday, as Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team began the second stage of their build-up to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
The reigning African champions matched China for long stretches in a tightly contested affair before falling three points short at the final buzzer.
Head coach Rena Wakama, in her absence will still take encouragement from her side’s showing against a team ranked fourth in the world, with the two sides set to meet again on Sunday, August 10.
Murjanatu Musa had an outstanding performance as he poured in 15 points and recorded 10 rebounds while veteran Promise Amukamara had 10 points.
China’s 7’3 feet tall center Zhang Ziyu was a handful for the D’Tigress as she scored 24 points.
Christen Iwuala, Grace Efosa and Jordan Obi were also impressive on the night with seven points each.
The China leg forms part of a five-stop preparation programme dubbed “Road to Berlin.”
Nigeria will look to bounce back in Saturday’s rematch as they continue fine-tuning combinations ahead of the global showpiece in Germany.
From China, the five-time consecutive African champions will travel to Tenerife, Spain, for games against the hosts and Belgium from August 15 to 24.
A further stop follows in Zaragoza from August 25 to September 3, where D’Tigress will face Mali and Puerto Rico in tune-up matches.
The team will then head to Berlin for the FIBA Women’s World Cup, running from September 4 to 13. D’Tigress have been drawn in Group B alongside Korea Republic, Hungary and France.
Friday’s defeat marks a tough opener on Chinese soil, but with three more preparation stops still to come, Wakama’s side have time to sharpen their form before the tournament begins.
