It’s all set in Abidjan! Nigeria’s young basketball stars have landed in Côte d’Ivoire, and they’ve been handed some seriously tough groups to navigate. Can our Junior D’Tigers and D’Tigress roar their way to the World Cup?

Our youngsters are ready for war on the hardwood!

According to cbinews.tv, Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress have been drawn in what many are already calling the group of death for the 2026 FIBA U-18 Women’s AfroBasket Championship. The girls will battle it out in Group C against heavyweights Cameroon, Senegal and Tunisia.

It’s not going to be a walk in the park, but then again, when has it ever been for Naija?

The tournament tips off in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 5th to 16th August, and the hosts headline Group A alongside Central African Republic, Kenya and Uganda. Group B has Mali, Egypt, Morocco and Benin slugging it out.

Meanwhile, our boys aren’t left out. The Junior D’Tigers, who qualified as Zone Three champions, have also arrived in Abidjan in fine spirits. They’ve been drawn in Group A of the men’s competition with hosts Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt and Chad.

Both teams are putting finishing touches to their final training sessions before action begins.

Here’s how it works – the competition starts with a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group, plus the two best third-placed teams, will punch their tickets to the quarter-finals.

And the ultimate prize? The two finalists will go on to fly Africa’s flag at the 2027 FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup.

All eyes on Abidjan now. Let’s go, Nigeria!

Source: cbinews.tv

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