Nigeria’s D’Tigress suffered a second successive defeat at the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, falling narrowly to Hungary 71–67 in a fiercely contested Group B encounter in Berlin on Saturday.
After opening their campaign with a 99–81 defeat to South Korea, D’Tigress were desperate for a response against Hungary, but the reigning African champions were again left disappointed as Hungary held their nerve in the decisive moments.
The four-point defeat represents a particularly painful setback for Nigeria, who remained competitive throughout the contest but could not produce enough offensively to turn their effort into victory.
Nigeria struggled from the field, converting 17 of 44 two-point attempts (39%) and just 7 of 25 attempts from three-point range (28%). They were also 12 of 23 from the free-throw line.
Hungary, meanwhile, were more efficient inside the arc, shooting 24 of 41 for 59 per cent, while making four of their 14 three-point attempts.
The result leaves D’Tigress without a win from their opening two Group B matches, putting their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage under significant pressure.
Nigeria’s situation had already become delicate after the opening-day defeat to South Korea. FIBA’s qualification permutations showed that D’Tigress needed a victory over Hungary to keep their progression hopes firmly alive.
The defeat also means Nigeria will now have to produce a major response against France in their final Group B game on Monday, with the reigning African champions facing one of the toughest challenges in the group.
D’Tigress arrived in Berlin carrying high expectations after their historic run at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they became the first African women’s basketball team to reach the Olympic quarter-finals. They also qualified for the World Cup as reigning FIBA Women’s AfroBasket champions.
Their return to the World Cup was seen as an opportunity to improve on their historic eighth-place finish at the 2018 tournament, when Nigeria became the first African team to reach the quarter-finals of the competition.
Instead, Rena Wakama’s side now find themselves fighting for survival in Berlin.
With France awaiting on Monday, D’Tigress must regroup quickly and produce their best performance of the tournament if they are to keep their World Cup journey alive.
Final: Nigeria 67–71 Hungary.
The margin was only four points — but the consequences could be much bigger.
