Hot Source* Extend unbeaten record in Africa to 29 games dating back to 2015
Duro Ikhazuagbe
Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, confirmed yet again their supremacy as the best team in the continent, defeating Mali 78-64 to win their fifth consecutive Afrobasket title in Abidjan Sunday night.
The win also extended Nigeria’s unbeaten run in Africa to 29 games, dating back to 2015.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games quarterfinalists were the tournament’s favourites but did not take anything for granted right from the group phase as they stayed undefeated till the final of the 2025 Afrobasket Championship inside the Palais des Sports de Treichville in the Ivorien commercial capital city.
However, the Malians drew the first blood, racing to 26-21 win in the first quarter. D’Tigress fought back gamely in the second quarter, winning it 20-15 that cancelled out Mali’s five points lead from the first quarter.
In the third quarter, D’Tigress gained a five-point edge closing that quarter with same 20-15 scoreline.
The Coach Rena Wakama-led ladies then took complete charge, throwing winners from all over the court. That 17-8 win effectively pushed Nigeria to the fifth consecutive win with 78-64 victory.
Expectedly, Ezinne Kalu led the statistic with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Amy Okonkwo followed overall with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Sika Koné contributed the highest points on the Malian side, firing 16 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists.
Since the 2011 tournament in Bamako, Nigeria and Mali have faced off six times.
That year, Mali, the host country, ended Nigeria’s hopes of winning the title with a 71–62 semifinal victory.
Two years later in Maputo, Mozambique, Mali defeated Nigeria twice. First, they won 78-45 in the group phase, then they won 57-50 in the fifth-place game.
Nigeria was tired of their continuous defeats at the hands of Mali and could not have found a better stage on which to turn their fortunes around than the 2017 Women’s AfroBasket semifinals in Mali. Nigeria walked away with a 48–47 victory, marking the beginning of their eight-year African dominance.
Two years later, in 2019, Nigeria beat Mali 79-58 in Dakar, Senegal. They beat them again in the 2021 tournament final in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Since 2011, Mali and Nigeria have each won three times.
Earlier Sunday, South Sudan’s Bright Starlets became the first debutants to win continental medal when they defeated 11-time champions Senegal 66-65 to win the bronze of the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket Championship.
The South Sudanese entered the championship on a wild card and capped it with their first ever medal in the continental showpiece.
Their win over Senegal, who were looking to end a decade-long wait for gold, makes it the third time the West Africans have missed out on the podium in 26 editions. They missed in the inaugural edition in 1966 and in 2021 in Cameroon, finishing fourth on both occasions.
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