- History makers Nigerian women's basketball team D'Tigress reached the Olympics quarter-final
- They beat Canada 79-70 in their final Group B game to qualify as the best third-placed team
- D'Tigress will face the world number one, the United States of America, in the quarter-final
The Nigerian women's basketball team D'Tigress reached the quarter-final of the Olympics after powering past Canada 79-70 in their final Group B encounter.
In their opening group game, D'Tigress beat world number three Australian but fell short against France in the second match. They finished third in the group with five points.
As noted by The Cable, the Rena Wakama-led team became the first African team (men or women) to reach the quarter-final of an Olympic basketball tournament.
This consequently means Wakama is the first head coach to lead an African team to the basketball quarter-final at the Summer Games.
When will D'Tigress face the USA?
As shared on the team's social media page, the current AfroBasket champions have been drawn against world number one, the United States of America.
Nigeria are scheduled to face the nine time Olympic gold medalist on August 7, at 9:30pm Nigerian time for a chance to continue their impressive and historic run.
How Nigeria and USA compare
The matchup between the two has been uneven, with the Americans having won the previous five encounters, leaving the Africans empty-handed.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Nigeria was impressive, and the US went on with business as usual. The AfroBasket champions won two games against Canada and Australia but lost to France.
The USA won all three games, the only other team to do so after Spain. Their difference in points of 58 is the highest in the group stage of the tournament.
D'Tigress were the best third-placed team in the group stage, finishing level on points with France and Australia, but they scored fewer points.
Nigerian records at Paris Olympics
Legit.ng analysed Team Nigeria's records at the Paris Olympics despite the country's group of 88 athletes yet to pick up a medal with only one week left at the Games.
D'Tigress is the biggest record setter so far, becoming the first African team to reach the quarter-final of the basketball, with Wamaka also becoming the first coach.
Source: Legit.ng