Nigeria’s women basketball national team, D’Tigress, the defending champions of the Women’s Afro-basket Championship, will begin the defence of their title in July against DR Congo and Egypt in Group D.

At the draw ceremony held on Friday, June 9 in Maputo, Mozambique, the groups for the 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket were confirmed at the ongoing 18th FIBA Africa General Assembly.

The 12-nation tournament will be held at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 28 to August 6.

The group format

Teams were divided into four groups of three each, with tournament hosts Rwanda drawn in Group A.
Ten countries had their places confirmed in the 12-nation showpiece.

The remaining two slots will be determined at a later date. FIBA Africa will attribute one wildcard, while the last ticket will be determined through a qualifier involving one team from Zone 2 and teams from Zone 3.

The wildcard team will be added to Group B, while the representative from Zones 2 (Guinea) and 3 will play in Group A alongside hosts Rwanda and Angola.

Group phase matches

In the first phase, each team will take on the two opponents in its respective group in a one-leg game.

The winners of each group will advance directly to the quarter-final, with the best four second and third teams taking the remaining places in the quarter finals.

A member of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) media team, Maxwell Kumoye, assured that the federation would ensure better preparation for the D’Tigress.

“The Afrobasket championship is a premium event and we have the best amazons, so we are prepared to win the title,” Kumoye told The ICIR.