The national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, are to play Serbia in an Olympics warm-up game at the Belgrade Arena, starting at 17:00 GMT (5 pm Nigerian time).
This is the team’s second match ahead of the Women’s Basketball Tournament of the 2024 Olympic Games starting July 26 in Paris, France, following a 77-63 defeat to Germany at the UBER Arena in Berlin on Friday.
Enjoying the support of Nigerians resident in Berlin and other German cities, Randy Waldrum’s charges put up a virtuoso performance, the narrow loss to the Europeans notwithstanding.
The African champions are now poised to replicate that heartwarming performance against Serbia, another European basketball superpower, banking on the support of sports-loving compatriots in that country.
Ranked 12th in the world, D’Tigress continue to punch below their weight in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they will face titanic battles against higher-ranked Australia, France, and Canada in Group B.
Their first pre-tournament opponents, Germany, are 19th in the FIBA World Rankings, while Serbia are ranked 10th.
Like Nigeria, the White Eagles are also making their second appearance at the Olympics, winning bronze on their debut at the 2016 edition. Also, making two appearances at the World Cup and boasting two golds and a bronze in 13 appearances at the EuroBasket make them more formidable than their German counterparts.
Nigeria, record four consecutive winners of the FIBA Afrobasket, will be punching above their weight in Paris, with their first opponents, Australia, ranked 3rd in the world, while Canada and France are ranked 5th and 7th, respectively.
They will be aiming for their first-ever win in the Women’s Olympic Basketball Tournament, having lost all group games and conceded over 400 points on their debut at Tokyo 2020, succumbing 87-62 to France in their first game, followed by an 81-72 defeat to the USA and a 102-83 loss to Japan in the second and third, respectively.
