Faisal Salisu DambattaNigeria’s men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, has fallen 11 positions in the most recent FIBA world rankings, now standing at 53rd place, following their elimination from the AfroBasket 2025 tournament in Angola. The team has also dropped from sixth to eighth in Africa, accumulating 248.7 points compared to 297.8 in the March 2025 rankings.
This decline positions Nigeria among the teams with the most significant global drops, alongside Morocco, Tunisia, the Virgin Islands, and Kosovo, while Mali, South Africa, Turkey, Cyprus, and Jamaica have achieved the most substantial gains.
Under the leadership of coach Mohammed Abdulrahman, D’Tigers advanced to the quarter-finals of AfroBasket 2025 but were defeated by Senegal with a score of 91-75. Despite this loss, players such as Caleb Agada, Josh Okogie, Stan Okoye, and Ike Nwamu showcased impressive performances, especially during the group stage where Nigeria led Group B with victories over Madagascar, Tunisia, and Cameroon.
“The quarter-final exit was disappointing, but the team demonstrated flashes of strong performance during the group matches,” Abdulrahman stated. “We have pinpointed areas requiring improvement, particularly in preparation and consistency, as we prepare for the upcoming qualifiers.”
The team is currently concentrating on the FIBA Men’s World Cup Qualifiers, which are scheduled to commence in November, with the objective of securing a place in the 2027 tournament in Qatar. Nigeria last participated in the FIBA World Cup in 2019 in China under the leadership of former coach Alex Nwora.
In Africa, South Sudan is the highest-ranked team, followed by Angola, Ivory Coast, Egypt, and Senegal. On a global scale, the United States remains at the top of the FIBA rankings, with Germany, Serbia, France, and Canada rounding out the top five.
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