Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress Crash Out of Title Race at FIBA U-19 Women’s World Cup

Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress have been eliminated from title contention at the ongoing FIBA U-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Brno, Czechia, following a 77-51 defeat to Hungary in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.

Coached by Juliana Akhere, the Nigerian team had finished third in Group B behind Canada and Portugal, securing one win and two losses in the group stage to accumulate four points. Making their debut appearance at the tournament, the team began their campaign with an impressive 93-88 win over China, before falling to Canada and Portugal in subsequent games.

Despite the group stage setbacks, Nigeria advanced to the knockout stage, where they faced Hungary with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. The opening quarter ended evenly at 9-9, but the Hungarians took control thereafter, dominating the next three quarters 30-12, 16-15, and 22-15, respectively.

Statistically, Nigeria attempted 64 field goals with a shooting accuracy of 27%, while Hungary shot 74 times and converted at a rate of 38%. Hungary also outclassed Nigeria in assists (27 to 8), rebounds (51 to 37), and blocks (6 to 4), although the D’Tigress recorded more steals (7 to 5).

Toby Nweke led Nigeria’s scoring with 12 points and added four rebounds, while Jessica Ajayi contributed 11 points and four rebounds. Momoluwa Tewogbade also made an impact, posting nine points and three rebounds.

For Hungary, Jesopovits Kinga delivered a standout performance with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Dora Toman and Szidonia Albert also chipped in with 17 and 11 points, respectively.

Although the loss ends Nigeria’s hopes of winning the World Cup, the team will continue in the classification rounds, where they will compete for a final placement between 9th and 16th.