Nigeria’s D’Tigers have taken another step up the world basketball ladder, climbing one place to 52nd globally in the latest FIBA men’s rankings but the bigger African challenge remains.
FIBA’s September ranking places Nigeria eighth on the continent with 325.8 ranking points, confirming an improvement of one position from their previous world ranking.
The movement gives D’Tigers a measure of upward momentum, but it also underlines the distance still separating Nigeria from Africa’s leading group.
Egypt sit 42nd globally and fourth in Africa, Senegal are 47th and fifth, Tunisia occupy 50th and sixth, while Cape Verde are immediately above Nigeria at 51st in the world and seventh on the continent. Cameroon follow D’Tigers in ninth place in Africa and 55th globally.
That makes Nigeria’s rise encouraging rather than transformative.
D’Tigers are also competing in the second round of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers, where their results will carry far greater weight than a single ranking movement.
Nigeria’s recent qualifying run has already shown why upward movement is possible. D’Tigers produced an 84-81 victory over Tunisia during the third qualifying window, beating a side currently ranked above them in Africa.
The rankings therefore deliver two messages at once.
Nigeria are moving again.
But eighth in Africa is still not the territory a programme with D’Tigers’ ambition will want to occupy for long.
With World Cup qualification still in play, the next target is bigger than another one-place rise. D’Tigers now have to turn improved results into sustained movement through Africa’s basketball hierarchy.
Cranse Sports
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