Nigeria loses FIBA U-18 Afrobasket final to Mali

There is news about Nigeria's youth women's basketball team known as the junior D'Tigress

Nigeria's junior D'Tigress suffered a 76-56 loss to Mali in the final of the FIBA U-18 Women's Afrobasket final.

In the final, the Nigerians had a tough job against their counterparts from Mali.

It would be Mali who would have a comfortable 20-point blowout victory in Pretoria, South Africa.

Oummou Koumare was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament.

Against Nigeria, she put up 31 points, four rebounds, and five steals.

The Nigerian team struggled all the way with visa issues and the South African embassy according to several reports.

After a slow start, they demolished Zimbabwe 107-30 in their second group game.

However, they lost 64-80 to Uganda in their third group game but still proceeded to the knockout stages.

They then defeated Egypt 66-51 to advance to the semifinal of the tournament.

In the final four, Nigeria had a hard-fought battle beating Uganda 71-67.

Despite the loss in the final, the junior D'Tigress of Nigeria qualified for the FIBA U-19 Women's World Cup next year.