Nigeria’s women’s basketball national team, D’Tigress retained the 8th position in latest global rankings by the sport’s governing body, FIBA despite losing three games at the just concluded 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
VDCInsights reports that D’Tigress remain the continent’s highest ranked team, while also staying above South Korea and Germany, both of whom defeated the Nigerian ladies at the recent tournament.
The tournament was a good one for one of the host qualifiers,France as the points they garnered help them to have an enviable climb on the table .
The FIBA Ranking read in part, “While USA strengthened their grip on top spot after going perfect in San Juan, several other nations have climbed up the FIBA World Ranking Women, presented by Nike.”
It added “Thanks to strong performances in the recent FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments. The most prominent headline sees France celebrate their newfound status as the second-highest-ranked nation.”
“They have moved ahead of Australia after impressing in Lyon-Villeurbanne with a flawless five wins, also receiving a supremacy bonus in four of those outings on home soil for defeating their opponents by a margin of 15 or more points.
“Similarly, Germany, the hosts of this year’s flagship event also rose a place from 12th to 11th. They racked up four eye-catching victories in the qualifiers, including a win against African champions, Nigeria.”
The report concluded “Senegal and Argentina are the highest climbers from Africa and the Americas. Both teams were still in contention to qualify for the Women’s World Cup until the final game day of the Qualifying Tournaments in San Juan and Istanbul.”
