- Safiu Kehinde
The D’Tigress of Nigeria has defeated Mali to clinch the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket title for the fifth time in a row.
Nigeria emerged victorious over their West African neighbour with a 78-64 points.
The win saw the D’Tigress successfully defended the title as they lifted their seventh AfroBasket title in history.
Nigeria endured a shaky start at the Palais des Sports de Treichville, Côte d’Ivoire, as Mali edged past them with 26-21 points in the first quarter.
The D’Tigress however redeemed themselves in the second quarter with a 20-15 win.
They kept the Malians at bay again in the third quarter with another 20-15 win before a dominant display in the final quarter saw them past Mali with 17-8 points.
This brought the game to a total of 79-64 points win for the D’Tigress.
The win saw Nigeria become the first ever country to win the AfroBasket title in five consecutive rows.