The Sun
Two of the most successful women’s basketball teams on the continent, Senegal and Nigeria, will face each other today in a blockbuster encounter in one of the two semi-finals of this year’s Afrobasket.
The tournament is now down to the best four teams, and today’s encounter will be the latest episode in the explosive match-up between both powerhouses of African basketball.
Senegal is the most successful women’s basketball team on the continent with 11 titles, but Nigeria’s D’Tigress are the most dominant team of the past ten years, having won the last four editions of the tournament since 2017.
The Nigeria women’s team have won a total of six Afrobasket trophies, with a seventh title in sight in Abidjan and an unprecedented fifth title in a row.
Today’s game is tantalisingly poised to represent the best advert for the continuous growth and quality of women’s basketball in Africa, and the eyes of basketball watchers all across the globe will be on the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan by 7 pm Nigerian time.
The D’Tigress remain unbeaten on the continent since 2015, and they are currently on a 27-game run, winning all three of their games so far in this year’s tournament.
The Senegalese, on the other hand, had a shaky path to the semi-final, having lost to Uganda in the group stage in one of the upsets of the tournament but bounced back to eliminate Rwanda in the playoffs before beating host Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.
Nigeria’s D’Tigress have won their last seven games against the Senegalese since 2015 to affirm their edge over their West African neighbours.
Both countries met in the final of the last edition in Rwanda, and Nigeria edged it with a ten-point margin of 84 to 74 points, while the last match-up between the two teams was in February last year in Antwerp, Belgium.
It was the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Paris Games, and it was another defeat for the Senegalese, losing 72–65 points.
Everything is pointing to a great game today, and D’Tigress understand that despite their dominance and head-to-head advantage, they cannot afford to take their closest rivals for granted if they must achieve the unprecedented five-in-a-row title and return home to a heroic welcome from the sports-loving President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
The girls and their officials believe they don’t need further motivation than the gestures Mr President poured on the victorious Super Falcons after winning the WAFCON in Morocco.
