Junior D’Tigers, Junior D’Tigress Know Group Opponents as FIBA U18 Afrobasket Begins
Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigers and Junior D’Tigress have discovered their group-stage opponents for the 2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket Championships following the official draw held on Sunday at the FIBA Africa Secretariat in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The continental youth basketball championship will take place from August 5 to 16, with 12 teams competing in both the boys’ and girls’ tournaments for African supremacy and qualification to the 2027 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cups.
The Junior D’Tigers, who qualified after an impressive unbeaten run at the FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifiers in Burkina Faso, have been drawn in Group A alongside hosts Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Chad.
Nigeria will be aiming to build on their dominant qualifying campaign as they target a place in the knockout stage and one of Africa’s two tickets to the 2027 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
Meanwhile, the Junior D’Tigress, who secured automatic qualification for the tournament, have been placed in a challenging Group C with Cameroon, Senegal, and Tunisia.
The Nigerian girls will also be chasing one of the two available African qualification spots for the 2027 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup in China.
2026 FIBA U18 AfroBasket Group Draw
Boys
Group A: Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Chad, Nigeria
Group B: Mali, Madagascar, Gabon, Morocco
Group C: Cameroon, Tunisia, Rwanda, Senegal
Girls
Group A: Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Uganda, Kenya
Group B: Mali, Morocco, Egypt, Benin
Group C: Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia
Both Nigerian teams have already arrived in Abidjan to complete final preparations ahead of the championship, with expectations high that they can challenge for continental honours and secure qualification for the 2027 FIBA U19 World Cups.
The tournament promises to showcase Africa’s brightest young basketball talents, with Nigeria hoping its boys and girls teams can make deep runs and continue the country’s proud tradition in youth basketball.
