FIBA World Cup: D’Tigress crash out after France thrashing

Nigeria’s D’Tigress crashed out of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after suffering a heavy 111-56 defeat to France in their final Group B match in Berlin on Monday.

The defeat completed a winless campaign for the African champions, who finished bottom of the group after earlier losses to South Korea and Hungary.

D’Tigress had already been eliminated before facing France after the European side defeated South Korea 95-69 to secure a quarter-final place and end Nigeria’s hopes of advancing.

France dominate from start to finish

France made their superiority clear from the opening quarter, racing to a 31-13 lead before extending their advantage to 65-26 at half-time.

D’Tigress struggled to contain France’s attacking threat and could not maintain possession or generate the intensity needed to mount a comeback.

The French side continued to dominate after the break, stretching the lead further before completing a 55-point victory.

Winless campaign ends in disappointment

The result marked a disappointing end to a tournament in which D’Tigress failed to reproduce the form that has established them as one of Africa’s leading women’s basketball teams.

Nigeria opened their campaign with an 81-99 defeat to South Korea before suffering a narrow 67-71 loss to Hungary.

The two defeats left D’Tigress needing a victory against France, although their elimination had already been confirmed before Monday’s game.

D’Tigress’ African dominance

D’Tigress arrived in Germany as five-time consecutive African champions and the continent’s highest-ranked women’s basketball team.

They also made history at the Paris 2024 Olympics by becoming the first African team to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s Olympic basketball tournament.

However, their World Cup campaign ended without a victory, leaving the African champions facing questions over their ability to translate their continental dominance to the global stage