Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, faced a 62-70 defeat to Serbia in Belgrade ahead of the 2024 Olympics.
The Nigerian squad, currently in Europe preparing for Paris 2024, lost their second consecutive warm-up game against the Serbian team.
Ranked 10th in the FIBA World standings, Serbia, under coach Marina Maljković, initially had a competitive start.
However, by the end of the first quarter, they established a significant lead, reaching a double-digit advantage of 28-18 by the fifteenth minute.
Serbia maintained their lead throughout the match, despite Nigeria closing the gap to 68-62 with 45 seconds left.
Serbia’s shooting accuracy was higher, with a 42 percent field goal percentage compared to Nigeria’s 34 percent.
Both teams recorded 20 assists and the same number of turnovers, but Nigeria led in rebounds, 38-30 and steals, 15-12.
This defeat follows Nigeria’s earlier loss to Germany in a friendly.
D’Tigress will play their final exhibition match against Japan on July 24 in Lille, France, before the Olympic basketball tournament begins.
In Group B, Nigeria will face strong competitors Canada, Australia, and host nation France.
