2025 Afrobasket: Nigeria’s D’Tigress to face Cameroon in epic quarter-final game

Femi Fabunmi

Nigeria’s national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, is preparing for a challenging match against Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket tournament.

The game is set to be played on Thursday night at the Palais des Sports de Treichville, located in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Tip-off time is scheduled for 10:00 p.m.

Cameroon reached the quarterfinals after delivering a strong performance against Angola, defeating them with a convincing score of 85 to 64 in their qualification game.

The Cameroonian team has been especially effective because of their impressive backcourt duo, Jessica Thomas and Joelly Emmanuelle Claude Belleka.

Both players have played key roles in their team’s success so far, with Thomas averaging 16 points per game and Belleka contributing 15 points per game on average.

D’Tigress, on the other hand, enters this match as the reigning champions of the tournament.

They have won the last four editions of the Afrobasket and are now aiming to make history by becoming the first team, whether male or female, to win the tournament five times in a row.

This would be a significant achievement in African basketball history and a proud moment for Nigeria.

However, the quarterfinal match against Cameroon carries more than just the usual pressure of tournament play. It brings back memories of a painful loss for Nigeria in the 2015 Afrobasket semifinals.

In that game, Cameroon narrowly defeated D’Tigress with a final score of 71 to 70. That match was played in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and remains the last time D’Tigress lost a game in the Afrobasket tournament.

Since that narrow defeat, D’Tigress has been on an impressive unbeaten run in Afrobasket competitions.

They have dominated their opponents and claimed four straight championship titles, proving themselves as the strongest women’s basketball team in Africa.

As the team prepares for the upcoming match, their focus will be on limiting the impact of Cameroon’s talented guards and maintaining their high level of play.

Nigeria knows that every team in the tournament will be looking to end their winning streak, and Cameroon will be especially motivated, given their history with D’Tigress.

For Nigerian basketball fans, this quarterfinal promises to be an exciting and emotional game, as the team continues its journey to defend its title and aim for a record-breaking fifth consecutive championship.