D’Tigress suffer narrow defeat to China in exhibition opener

Nigeria's senior women's basketball team, D'Tigress, commenced their exhibition series in China with a narrow 70-67 defeat against the host nation in Haikou. This match marks the second stage of their preparation for the upcoming FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup.

The reigning African champions demonstrated a strong performance, matching China, ranked fourth globally, for most of the game. Despite falling short by three points at the final buzzer, head coach Rena Wakama will likely find encouragement in the team's ability to compete against a top-ranked opponent. D'Tigress is scheduled for another exhibition game against China on Saturday, August 9.

The China leg is part of D'Tigress's extensive "Road to Berlin" preparation program. The tour began with games in the United States from July 29 to August 2. Following their matches in China, the team will travel to Tenerife, Spain, from August 15 to 24 for games against Spain and Belgium. They will then move to Zaragoza from August 25 to September 3 for tune-up matches against Mali and Puerto Rico.

D'Tigress will ultimately head to Berlin for the FIBA Women's World Cup, which runs from September 4 to 13. The team has been drawn into Group B, facing competition from Korea Republic, Hungary, and France.