Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress Face Hungary Today In Round Of 16

Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress will face Hungary today in the round of 16 of the 2025 FIBA U-19 Womens’ World Cup in Brno, Czechia after they lost their final round-robinn game 79-61 to Portugal on Tuesday

The coach Juliana Akhere-led side were looking to finish the group phase on a strong note, having suffered a chastening 113-42 defeat in their previous fixture with Canada.

The West Africans had begun their debut campaign at the U-19 Women’s World Cup with a credible 93-88 victory over China on the opening day of competition, but losses to Canada and now Portugal mean that the team finished the round-robin phase in third position in Group B.

The 2024 FIBA U-18 Women’s AfroBasket runners-up were guilty of turning the ball over needlessly, failing to defend properly, not putting away their shots from the three-point line and missing several of their free throws. 

The Portuguese won three out of four quarters, with only the third quarter ending all square 18-18. Total attempted field goals by Portugal stood at 71 compared to just 57 by Nigeria, while the Iberian nation made 28 of their field goals as against the 18 made by the West Africans.

Tipping the scales in favour of Portugal was their assists tally, which stood at 22, while making 54 rebounds, 14 steals and seven blocks. On the other hand, Nigeria registered 40 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals and a solitary block.

Former Kentucky player and TCU bound Clara Silva made the difference for Portugal as she put up a stellar double-double effort of 17 points and 14 rebounds, while Leonor Peixinho (16), Marta Rodrigues (14) and Maria Andorinho (11) all registered double-figure point hauls.

As for Nigeria, MFM Queens star Idubamo Beggi scored a team-high 17 points and added six assists. Toby Nweke was also impressive on the day, as she recorded 16 points while Stanford University student Nora Ezike and Abigail Isaac could only manage nine and six points respectively.

All 16 countries currently competing in the FIBA U-19 Women’s World Cup in Brno, Czechia have advanced into the next round following the conclusion of the group phase. Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress will now face Hungary in the round of 16, with the winner proceeding into the quarter-finals while the loser will be involved in the classification rounds for places 9-16.

The Hungarians finished second in Group A having won two games and lost one behind the United States of America, who won all their group fixtures. Israel came in third spot after managing just one win and two defeats while whipping girls Korea Republic occupy the foot of the table, having failed to win a single game at the tournament thus far.