NIGERIA’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, has claimed their fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title after defeating Mali 78–64 in a thrilling final on Sunday, August 3, at the Palais des Sports Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
While the victory again cemented Nigeria’s dominance in African women’s basketball, it has also earned them automatic qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin.
Coming into the match, both sides had faced each other six times in AfroBasket tournaments since 2011, splitting victories evenly.
D’Tigress has won the AfroBasket tournament five times in a row after beating Mali women’s team 78 – 64 in the final of the 2025 competition held in Cotê d’Ivoire pic.twitter.com/qTDHV5x19P
— The ICIR (@TheICIR) August 3, 2025
Sunday’s final, however, swung in favour of the defending champions, who showed superior qualities.
D’Tigress maintained control in the major part of the game. The win continues the team’s impressive unbeaten streak in the continental tournament and highlighted Nigeria’s growing dominance in African women’s basketball.
Nigeria topped Group D in the preliminary rounds, then defeated Cameroon in the quarterfinals before edging past Senegal 75–68 in a tough semifinal.
Mali, on the other hand, went unbeaten in Group B and cruised past Cameroon and South Sudan to reach the final.
Heading into the final, Nigeria had the tournament’s best offensive average (77.5 points per game), while Mali led in rebounds and assists.
The victory came a week after the Super Falcons of Nigeria won the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Casablanca, to make it 10 trophies in the competition’s history.
The ICIR reported that at a reception held on Monday, July 28, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on all 24 players and 11 technical crew members.
Each player also received a cash prize of the naira equivalent of $100,000, while the technical team members were awarded $50,000 each.
In addition, the president directed the allocation of three-bedroom apartments to all recipients in the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing Estate.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M