The stellar performance of Nigeria’s D’Tigress at the recent FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade (Serbia) has yielded dividends with Nigeria moving up to the 14th place in the FIBA World ranking for Women released Monday in Mies, Switzerland.
According to the latest ranking from FIBA, Nigeria, who opened the tournament in Belgrade with a loss to China, bounced back from a 20-point deficit with the surprise victory over France, and had a thrilling triumph over Mali in a rematch of last year’s FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Final.
On the strength of the two victories, the Nigerians moved up a spot on the ranking to No. 14, with the team that had occupied that place, Korea, moving up to No. 13.
While the top four teams remain unchanged, with the USA still having the No. 1 spot, followed by Spain, Australia and Canada, Belgium have leapfrogged France into the No. 5 position on the strength of resounding victories over Puerto Rico and Russia in the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Washington. In the current system of ranking, all games matter.
The French dropped a place to No. 6 after suffering defeats in two of their games at the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade against China and Nigeria.
Korea, meanwhile, won against Brazil, a victory that earned them a place in the upcoming World Cup, which tips off in Sydney, Australia, on September 22 and concludes on October 1. China holds their spot at No. 7 with three solid wins in Belgrade.
Bosnia and Herzegovina also moved up a place to No. 26 after some hard-fought games against top 10 opponents in the Qualifying Tournament in Osaka. Despite falling to Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina surprised No. 8 hosts Japan, 87-82 with the win.
