NSC Hails Junior D’Tigress, Targets Strong World Cup Campaign In China
The National Sports Commission has commended Nigeria’s U18 women’s basketball team, the Junior D’Tigress, following their successful qualification for the 2027 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup billed to take place in China. The commendation came in a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos by the Commission’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Dr Kehinde Ajayi, celebrating what officials described as a hard fought and thoroughly deserved achievement by the young Nigerian squad on foreign soil.
Nigeria’s youngsters secured their World Cup ticket after edging out host nation Côte d’Ivoire in a tightly contested semi-final encounter at the FIBA U18 Women’s AfroBasket Championship, winning by a narrow margin of fifty three points to fifty. The victory not only guaranteed Nigeria’s place at next year’s global tournament but also propelled the Junior D’Tigress into the final of the continental championship, where they were set to face Mali for the AfroBasket title. Given that both finalists had already secured their World Cup qualification ahead of the championship match, the final itself carried significance purely in terms of continental bragging rights and the pursuit of outright African supremacy at the youth level.
National Sports Commission Director-General, Bukola Olopade, praised the composure and resilience shown by the young players in overcoming a difficult atmosphere against a strong Ivorian side playing on home soil. According to Olopade, the manner in which the team fought through pressure and adversity reflected genuine discipline, commitment and patriotism among the players, qualities he said were essential ingredients behind Nigeria’s continued success at various levels of national team basketball. He expressed confidence that the same qualities responsible for their semi-final triumph would similarly guide the team toward victory in the championship decider against Mali.
The upcoming final against Mali represented a repeat of the previous edition of the tournament, where Mali had previously defeated Nigeria by a wide margin to claim the continental crown at an earlier staging of the competition held in Pretoria, South Africa. With that previous defeat still fresh in memory, Nigerian officials expressed optimism that the current group of players possessed the tools necessary to reverse the outcome and finally lift the AfroBasket trophy on this occasion, buoyed by the experience gained from their hard fought progression through the tournament’s knockout stages.
Beyond commending the playing squad, Olopade also extended praise to the Nigeria Basketball Federation, led by its president, Engineer Musa Kida, for what he described as the steady and progressive development of the country’s national basketball teams, particularly across the women’s category. He emphasized the importance of continued investment and attention toward nurturing young female talent within the sport, arguing that sustained federation support remained central to producing consistent results at both continental and global levels of competition.
Looking further ahead, the NSC Director-General assured the Junior D’Tigress and the basketball federation of the Commission’s continued support as preparations begin for next year’s World Cup assignment in China. He stressed that the Commission remained committed to ensuring the team receives the best possible preparation and support structures ahead of the global tournament, much as it has consistently sought to provide across various other sporting disciplines representing Nigeria on the international stage. The qualification marks another significant milestone for Nigerian basketball at the youth level, further reinforcing growing optimism around the depth and future potential of the country’s women’s basketball development pathway.
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