D'Tigress Crash Out Of FIBA World Cup After France Thrashing

Nigeria’s D’Tigress have been eliminated from the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup after suffering a crushing 111-56 defeat to France in their final group-stage game in Berlin, Germany.

The result condemned the African champions to a third consecutive defeat at the tournament, following earlier losses to South Korea and Hungary, condemning them to the bottom of their group and bringing their World Cup campaign to a disappointing end.

The defeat comes after a remarkable period for the Nigerian side, who won a fifth consecutive continental title and reached the Olympic quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

However, that impressive form failed to translate to the global stage as D’Tigress struggled throughout the tournament, with their shortcomings exposed most severely against France.

The defeat marked Nigeria’s third appearance at the Women’s World Cup, although with a far less dignified showing than in their run in the 2018 edition, when they reached the quarter-finals.

D’Tigress had also qualified for the 2022 tournament but did not participate after the Federal Government imposed a self-imposed ban on the country’s national basketball teams, with Mali taking Nigeria’s place.