Nigeria’s U19 women’s basketball team, the Junior D’Tigress, will square off against Argentina today in the classification round of the ongoing FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in Brno, Czechia.
After exiting the race for the title with a 77 to 51 loss to Hungary in the round of 16, the Nigerian girls are now focused on securing a respectable finish between ninth and sixteenth place. The matchup against Argentina will take place at the Starez Arena Vodova Hall.
Making their debut at the global tournament, the Junior D’Tigress have impressed with grit and flashes of promise. So far, the team has averaged 61.8 points, 42.3 rebounds and 11.8 assists per game. Their free throw accuracy stands at 65.8 percent, while they have converted 33.1 percent of two-point shots and 21.2 percent of three-point attempts.
Their South American opponents, Argentina, are yet to win a match at the tournament. In four games played, they have averaged 46.5 points, 32 rebounds and 12.3 assists. Their shooting figures are modest, with 64.6 percent from the free throw line, 39.2 percent on two-pointers and 22.6 percent from beyond the arc.
Nigeria started their campaign with a historic win against China but failed to maintain the momentum, suffering defeats to Canada and Portugal in the group stage. Despite finishing third in their group with one win and two losses, they advanced to the knockout round before falling to Hungary.
Argentina, on the other hand, have had a dismal outing. They lost to Spain, Czechia, Japan and Australia in consecutive games, conceding a combined total of 323 points in four matches.
Toby Nweke has been Nigeria’s standout player so far, averaging 11.5 points per game and delivering back-to-back double-digit performances. Argentina’s key threat remains Nerea Lagowski, who is averaging nine points per game.
The outcome of today’s match will determine who progresses to face either Brazil or the Korean Republic in the next phase of the classification round.
