A Team Built on Fighting Spirit
Through the qualifying campaign for AfroBasket 2025, Nigeria stumbled to an 0-3 start in the first round, putting their spot at Africa’s biggest basketball tournament in real jeopardy,the country hadn’t missed AfroBasket in 32 years, and it looked like that streak might end. The technical crew overhauled the roster and, remarkably, D’Tigers won all three of their remaining group games to scrape through 3-3 and book their ticket to Angola — a comeback that became a defining moment for the team’s character
Redemption in Angola – Then Heartbreak
Once they got to the 2025 AfroBasket finals in Luanda, Angola, D’Tigers looked like a different team. They topped their group unbeaten, thumping Madagascar, reigning champions Tunisia, and a Cameroon side stacked with NBA talent. Forward Josh Okogie put on a show against Tunisia, dropping 33 points in an 87-66 win.
But the run stalled in the quarterfinals. Senegal, fuelled by 32 points from Brancou Badio, ended Nigeria’s title hopes with a 91-75 win, sending D’Tigers home in fifth place overall, a solid finish, but short of matching their historic 2015 championship. It was also a bittersweet summer, since Nigeria’s women’s team, D’Tigress, had just won their fifth straight AfroBasket title weeks earlier.
This will mark the first occasion D’Tigress has played in Nigeria since clinching five consecutive AfroBasket championships under the guidance of Nigerian WNBA coach Rena Wakama, who is once again leading a team predominantly composed of WNBA players.
A New Coach, A New Chapter
Since then, the program has brought in a notable new face: David Fizdale, the former NBA head coach who’s led teams like the Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks, is now the man calling the shots for D’Tigers. He got his first taste of the job in July 2026, guiding Nigeria to a hard-fought 84-81 win over Tunisia in a World Cup qualifying match, an encouraging start to his tenure.
Why Tunisia, Why Now
Which brings us to today. This isn’t AfroBasket, it’s the road to a different prize. D’Tigers are chasing a place at the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar, and they’ve just landed in Radès, Tunisia, for the second round of Africa’s World Cup qualifiers.
Here’s how it works: after three qualifying windows (November 2025, February 2026, and July 2026), the top 12 teams in Africa were split into two groups of six for the next stage. Nigeria landed in a group with Cameroon, South Sudan, Guinea, Tunisia, and Cape Verde, and since they already played Tunisia and Guinea in the first round, this next stretch is all about the three teams they haven’t faced yet: Cameroon, South Sudan, and Cape Verde. Five tickets to Qatar are up for grabs.
Today’s practice was the last tune-up before that gauntlet begins:
August 30 — Nigeria vs Cape Verde
August 27 — Nigeria vs Cameroon
August 28 — Nigeria vs South Sudan
The big talking point heading into this window is the roster. Coach Fizdale has called up a 12-man group that mixes NBA pedigree with familiar national team faces:
Josh Okogie, currently with the Utah Jazz, returns to the national team for the first time in about a year, and this marks the first time D’Tigers have had an active NBA player available specifically for this World Cup qualifying campaign. He’s joined by Chimezie Metu, Chima Moneke, and Udoka Azubuike, a former first-round NBA draft pick, giving Nigeria real size and scoring punch.
The squad also leans on experience: Stan Okoye, the last man standing from Nigeria’s 2015 AfroBasket-winning team, brings a link to the program’s greatest moment. He’s joined by Caleb Agada, Ike Nwamu, Efe Abogidi, Ebuka Izundu, Manny Obaseki, Jordan Ogundiran, and Michael Efevberha rounding out the roster.
For a program that has shown time and again it can fight back from tough spots, having a settled roster and a full camp ahead of a crucial qualifying window feels like real momentum. Whether that translates into wins against Cameroon, South Sudan, and Cape Verde remains to be seen — but D’Tigers head into Tunisia with more depth, more star power, and more belief than they’ve had in a long time.
Kickoff against Cameroon is set for August 27. All eyes on Radès.