The national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, will play Serbia in an Olympic warm-up game at the Belgrade Arena.
This is the team’s second match before the Women’s Basketball Tournament at the 2024 Olympic Games, which begins on July 26 in Paris, France, following a 77-63 loss to Germany on Friday at the UBER Arena in Berlin.
Randy Waldrum’s troops put up a magnificent display, aided by the support of Nigerians living in Berlin and other German cities, despite the tight loss to Europe.
The African champs are now preparing to recreate that wonderful performance against Serbia, another European basketball superpower, with the support of their sports-loving compatriots in that country.
D’Tigress, rated 12th in the world, continues to fight below their weight as they prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they will square off against higher-ranked Australia, France, and Canada in Group B.
Their first pre-tournament opponents are Germany (19th in the FIBA World Rankings) and Serbia (10th).
The White Eagles, like Nigeria, are making their second Olympic participation, having won bronze in their debut in 2016. They are also more formidable than their German counterparts, having played in two World Cups and winning two gold medals and one bronze in 13 EuroBasket appearances.
Nigeria, who has won the FIBA Afrobasket four times in a row, will face tough competition in Paris. Australia is ranked third in the world, while Canada and France are ranked fifth and seventh, respectively.
The team will be aiming for their first win in the Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament, having lost all group games and conceded over 400 points in their debut at Tokyo 2020. They lost 87-62 to France in their first game.