Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress have crashed out of the title race at the ongoing FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup following a 77-51 defeat to Hungary in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.
The Nigerian side, coached by Juliana Akhere, had advanced to the knockout phase after finishing third in Group B with four points, securing one win and two losses. The team began their maiden World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 93-88 victory over China but stumbled in subsequent games against Canada and Portugal.
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In their knockout clash against Hungary, Nigeria matched their opponents in the opening quarter, which ended 9-9. However, the Eastern Europeans seized control of the game thereafter, winning the remaining quarters 30-12, 16-15, and 22-15.
Statistically, Hungary outperformed Nigeria across key metrics. The Hungarians converted 38% of their 74 field goal attempts, compared to Nigeria’s 27% from 64 shots. Hungary also dominated in assists (27 to 8), rebounds (51 to 37), blocks (6 to 4), and steals (5 to 7).
Individually, Toby Nweke led Nigeria’s scoring with 12 points and four rebounds, followed by Jessica Ajayi, who posted 11 points and four rebounds. Momoluwa Tewogbade also added nine points and three rebounds.
For Hungary, Jesopovits Kinga was the standout performer with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Dora Toman and Szidonia Albert contributed 17 and 11 points, respectively.
With the loss, Nigeria is now out of contention for a podium finish but will continue their campaign in the classification rounds for 9th to 16th place
