Paris 2024: D’Tigress to face world champions USA in quarter-final

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team has a daunting task in their next game at the Paris 2024 Olympics after being drawn to face Olympic champions and world number one, the United States of America (USA), in the quarter-final.

D’Tigress became the first African basketball team (men or women) to make it to the quarter-final of the Olympics after a 79-70 win over Canada on Sunday.

They achieved that after upsetting two of the top 10 ranked basketball teams in Australia and Canada.

They finished third in Group B and qualified as one of the best third-placed finishers.

USA, on the other hand, dominated their group, winning all three games against Japan, Belgium, and Germany.

The American pedigree made it a tough contest for Rena Wakama’s side after the coach made history both at the Afrobasket and the Olympics as the first coach to lead an African basketball team to the quarter-final.

She also became the first woman coach to win an Afrobasket title.

D’Tigress has not won the last six meetings against the USA.

The American side has won nine out of the last 12 World Cups and nine out of 11 Olympics.

They have a record of 72 wins and three losses at the Olympics and us without a loss since 1992.

Irrespective of the result, D’Tigress will be proud of their achievements so far at the Olympics and can still have a slim shot at upsetting the world champions.