Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team D’ Tigers has dropped four places in the latest FIBA ranking released on Friday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the team has dropped from 39th to 42nd place globally. During the past month, D’Tigers accumulated 299.7 points, placing them sixth in Africa.
South Sudan has surged impressively, moving from 34th to 23rd in the world rankings, now leading as Africa’s top-ranked team, surpassing Côte d’Ivoire. Angola, Tunisia, and Egypt round out the top five African teams.
On the global stage, Olympic champions the U.S. have maintained their top position, while Serbia has ascended to second place, surpassing Germany with 758.9 points. Basketball fans are now calling for urgent measures to restore D’Tigers to their former prominence and improve their world ranking.
Femi Olatubosun, a basketball enthusiast, expressed concern over D’Tigers’ diminished competitive edge. He pointed out that the team’s decline is partly due to insufficient competition and their absence from major tournaments. Olatubosun urged the federation to address this by arranging friendly matches before the Africa Cup qualifiers begin.
Anthony Bernard echoed similar sentiments, criticizing the federation for neglecting the once-dominant team. He emphasized that D’Tigers’ drop in rankings reflects a lack of support and called for the organization of friendly games to help the team reclaim their top position both in Africa and globally. D’Tigers last held the top spot in Africa before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and remain the only African team to have defeated the U.S. national team.
NAN.
