NIGERIA’S national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, will begin their quest for Olympics honour as they play against Canada, Australia and host France in the group stage of the women’s basketball event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The D’Tigress who has qualified three times, in 2004, 2020 and 2024, were pitted against the three countries in Group B.
The draw ceremony held on Tuesday, March 19, was hosted by two basketball legends; three-time Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) champion, Penny Taylor, and former National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar, Carmelo Anthony, at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball.
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The D’Tigress ended their first two campaigns in 2004 and 2020 in the group stage without progressing into the next round.
During the team’s maiden appearance at the Olympics in 2004, hosted in Greece, it failed to progress to advance to the next round after winning only one match out of five matches.
Likewise, in the 2020 event hosted in Japan, D’Tigress were unable to reach the next round after losing all three matches in the group.
Other groups in Paris 2024
Group A has Serbia, China, Puerto Rico and Spain while the defending champion USA has been pitched against Germany, Japan and Belgium in Group C.
Format for qualification to the next round
The first stage of the competition is played in a round-robin format, with each team playing all other teams in its group.
The teams placed first and second in each group and the two best third-placed teams in the group phase qualify for the final phase while the remaining four teams take no further part in the competition.
For the final phase, a draw will take place following the conclusion of the group phase to determine the pairings of the quarter-finals.
Teams from the same group in the group phase cannot be drawn against each other in the quarter-finals. The four winners of the quarter-finals will qualify for the semi-finals
Winners of the quarter-finals played by the teams from Pot D cannot play each other in the semi-final games.
The four teams eliminated in the quarter-finals shall take no further part in the competition. The classification of teams from 5th to 8th place shall be established according to the FIBA Official Basketball Rules.
The women’s Olympic event begins July 28 in Lille, France, at Pierre Mauroy Stadium and concludes with the gold-medal and bronze-medal games on August 11 in Paris at Bercy Arena.