Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, are ramping up their training for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. They are currently in a training camp in Tenerife, Spain, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
The team got to Spain earlier this week for the third part of their training, which will last until August 24.
Coach Rena Wakama’s team is set to play against Spain and Belgium during this phase. After that, they will move to Zaragoza for the final phase from August 25 to September 3.
In Zaragoza, the seven-time African champions will finish their preparation with practice games against Mali and Puerto Rico. After that, they will head to Berlin, Germany, for the World Cup.
D’Tigress just wrapped up their tour of China last week on a high note. They bounced back from two losses to the hosts to win 88-77 in their last match in Foshan, Guangdong Province.
This win helped them recover from a 69-65 defeat in their second game and a 70-67 loss in their first meeting with China.
Nigeria kicked off their World Cup training in the United States, where they practiced from July 29 to August 2. They then continued their training in China.
The team is set to head to Germany for the World Cup, which is scheduled for September 4 to 13. They have been drawn in Group B with Korea Republic, Hungary, and France.
Nigeria will start their campaign against Korea Republic on September 4. They will then face Hungary on September 5 and France on September 7.
Wakama’s team is entering the tournament after winning their fifth straight FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title. They claimed the title with a tough 78-64 win over Mali in the final.
This win followed their historic run at the Paris 2024 Olympics. D’Tigress became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals at the Olympic Games.
Nigeria earned a direct spot in the 2026 World Cup after winning the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket. They also took part in the World Cup qualifying tournament in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France, where they faced challenges and lost three out of five games.
D’Tigress will be making their third appearance at the World Cup in Germany. They had previously participated in the 2006 and 2018 tournaments.
Their best performance was in 2018 when they reached the quarter-finals and finished in eighth place overall.
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