An impressive World Cup qualifying tournament in Belgrade saw the West Africans move up a place in the world rankings.
The Nigerian national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, moved up one place in the latest FIBA basketball rankings released on Monday, February 21, 2022. Nigeria moved from 15th to 14th spot on the global ranking behind South Korea in 13th place, after an impressive 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Serbia.
It will be recalled that during the recently concluded FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament, the five-time African champions, despite inadequate preparations, as they arrived in Belgrade barely a day to the start of the tournament, won the admiration of Nigerians for their excellent display on the global stage.
After suffering a 14-point defeat against the Chinese national team in their first game, the West Africans surprised the world after staging a 20-point comeback to beat France 67-65 in their second game. They would go on to beat Mali 73-69 in their last game of the tournament to book a ticket to the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Australia.
With the new rankings, D’Tigress maintained the number one spot in Africa, followed by eleven-time African champions, Senegal, in second place and 30th in the world, and Mali in third place, 37th globally. Mozambique (41) and Mali (44) occupy the fourth and fifth spots respectively.
The United States maintained the top spot globally, followed by Spain and Australia in 2nd and 3rd positions, while Canada and Belgium occupied the 4th and 5th spots.
Sources:
Punch NG
Premium Times NG
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