AfroBasket 2017: D’Tigress stun Mali to qualify for final, grab World Cup ticket

Nigeria’s national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have booked their place in the final of the 2017 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship and qualified for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Spain as a result, after beating hosts Mali in semifinal.

In the game played late on Saturday, the Nigerian ladies did face a very tough opposition in Mali, and only scaled through with just one point.

Nigeria led in the first quarter with 10-7 points and continued were on top 23-12 by the end of first half.

In the third quarter, the hosts bounced back and grabbed a 17-16 points win, and almost made it through in the fourth quarter as they came out on top with 18-9.

Read also: AfroBasket 2017: D’Tigress to face host nation Mali in semifinals

They ended only a point behind Nigeria in the final result, as the game ended on 48-47 points in Nigeria’s favour.

Two years ago, Nigeria lost the semifinals to the host country with one point, and this year, they defeated the host with one point too.

Having won seven successive games from the start of the tournament, the Nigerian team is now only one game away from winning the title they won in 2003 and 2005.

 

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