- Safiu Kehinde
Following their stellar performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics games, Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress, has, yet again, made another history as they emerged the first African national team to be ranked in the Fédération International de Basketball (FIBA) top ten list.
As contained in the latest edition of the FIBA Women World Ranking, D’Tigress jumped for places and currently sit at the eight position of the ranking.
They have now made history again as the first African national team in the history of the FIBA World Ranking (men or women) to be ranked in the top 10.
Their Olympics exploit is attributed for this change of fortune.
D’Tigress secured to wins at the Paris 2024 basketball category by beating Australia in the opening day by 72-62 points.
They would, however, lost the second to host nation, France, in 54-75 margin.
The team regained their momentum as they beat Canada 79-70 in the final match of the group stage which led to their historical quarterfinals showdown against world champion, the United States of America.
D’Tigress were forced to bow to 74-88 defeat to the world number one and eventual gold winner of the tournament, United States.
While the US maintained their number one spot on FIBA ranking, Australia leapt to the second spot.
Olympics host nation, France, also experienced a turnover as they were elevated four places into third spot after their captivating run to the final match of the Olympics.