Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress lost again to Mali in the final of the FIBA U18 Women’s AfroBasket. They were defeated 77-68, giving the title back to the defending champions in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Mali won on Sunday and continued their strong performance in this competition. This victory marked their second three-peat, having previously won three titles in a row in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
They have now taken five of the last six championships. Egypt won the title in 2020, but Mali came back to win again in 2022, 2024, and 2026.
For Nigeria, this loss was painful. It shows Mali’s strength in the age-grade competition. Mali also beat the Junior D’Tigress 76-56 in the 2024 final.
Favour Joy Anari led Nigeria’s effort with 26 points. Her scoring and rebounding kept the Junior D’Tigress in the game.
Mali started strong and managed to stay ahead, even as Nigeria tried to make a comeback. Coumba Keita was Mali’s top scorer with 25 points. Maimouna Traoré added 18 points to help the champions finish the tournament without a loss in six games.
This result means Nigeria has now finished as runners-up at the U18 Women’s AfroBasket three times.
Even though they did not win the title, Anari received recognition for her great performance. She was named to the All-Star Team.
She was joined by Mali’s Traoré and Assan Mariko, Hania Hassabelnaby from Egypt, and Eveline Toyounon from Cameroon.
Traoré was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for her outstanding play for the champions.
Keita was the tournament’s leading scorer with an average of 20 points per game and also won the award for best three-pointer.
Cameroon’s Toyounon was named the best rebounder of the tournament after averaging 17 rebounds per game. Benin received the Fair Play Award.
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