Rot in Nigerian sports continues as D’Tigress become first nation eliminated from FIBA World Cup

The crisis engulfing Nigerian sports has taken another painful turn, with D’Tigress becoming the first team eliminated from the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Nigeria suffered a second consecutive defeat in Berlin on Saturday, falling 71-67 to Hungary before France’s emphatic victory over South Korea confirmed their early exit.

Nigeria entered the Hungary clash knowing defeat would leave their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread after an 81-99 loss to South Korea in their opening Group B fixture.

D’Tigress produced a much-improved defensive performance against Hungary and remained competitive throughout the contest. However, they lacked the offensive sharpness required to turn their pressure into victory as Hungary held on for a four-point win.

The result was particularly damaging given that Hungary had also lost their opening match, suffering a heavy 53-99 defeat to France.

Nigeria therefore headed into the final group permutations without a victory from their first two matches, having scored 148 points and conceded 170 for a negative points differential of 22.

Their hopes were effectively extinguished when France dismantled South Korea 98-69, leaving Nigeria bottom of Group B and officially eliminated. It is the first time since 2006 that D’Tigress will fail to reach the quarter-finals of the Women’s Basketball World Cup.

D’Tigress’ early elimination adds another chapter to an increasingly difficult period for Nigerian sport.

The Super Eagles failed to qualify for a second consecutive FIFA World Cup, while the Super Falcons endured their worst-ever WAFCON finish, failing to reach the semi-finals for the first time and missing out on the Women’s World Cup for the first time since the tournament began in 1991.

The football setbacks eventually contributed to the resignation of NFF president Ibrahim Gusau and his board.

Now, Nigeria’s reigning African champions have suffered a shock early exit on the global basketball stage.

For a country with such enormous sporting talent, the recurring disappointments are becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss as bad luck. D’Tigress’ elimination may be another result on paper, but alongside the failures elsewhere, it paints an uncomfortable picture of Nigerian sports.