By Jennifer Amarachi
The senior men’s basketball team from Nigeria, known as D’Tigers, fell four spots in the most recent FIBA ranking, which was released on Friday.
According to reports, D’Tigers fell from 39th to 42nd place in the world ranking. The former African champions scored 299.7 points during the month under review to hold sixth place on the continent.
South Sudan moved up to the top of the FIBA World Ranking, surpassing Côte d’Ivoire. Angola, Tunisia, and Egypt round out the top five teams in Africa.
The reigning Olympic champions, the United States, maintained their lead at the top, while Serbia moved up two spots to take second place with a total of 758.9 points, surpassing Germany.
Meanwhile, basketball fans have asked for immediate measures to help the team regain its footing and position in the international rankings.
A fan, Femi Olatubosun, stated that the D’Tigers had entirely fallen out of contention and were no longer the competitive squad they used to be a few years ago.
“Unfortunately, D’Tigers has continued to fall in the rankings, owing to a lack of competition and absence from key competitions. “I urge the federation to look critically at this and organise some friendly games for the team before the qualifiers for the Africa Cup begin,”he said.
Anthony Bernard said that the federation has abruptly abandoned the squad, which was once a powerhouse in African basketball.
“The D’Tigers have plummeted in the world rankings due to the federation’s apathy; the squad needs to recover and compete for trophies.
“The federation should organise friendly matches so that they can gather enough points and regain their top spot in Africa and in the world,” he told journalists.
According to reports, D’Tigers were the top African team prior to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and they are still the only African team to defeat the United States national team.
