By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, mostly known as D’Tigress on Sunday beat Canada 79-70 in the last group match of the Women’s Basketball event at the ongoing Olympic Games inside Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.
The match was closely contested, with the first quarter ending in a 18-18 tie. Canada led by four points at halftime, with the score at 41-37.
However, Nigeria turned the game around in the third quarter, limiting the Canadians to just five points.
D’Tigress delivered a dominant performance in the final quarter, securing a historic 9-point victory and sealing their place in the next round. The team had bounced back impressively after a loss to France, having previously defeated Australia in their opening game.
The victory ensured that Nigeria reached the basketball quarter-final for the first time ever against a Canadian team ranked 5th in the world.
D’Tigress, Africa’s number one had subdued world number three Australia in their first group game of the Olympics in Paris.
They had slipped to France defeat in the second match few days ago.