Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, began their exhibition series in China with a narrow 70-67 defeat to the hosts in Haikou on Friday, as the reigning African champions opened the second stage of their build-up to the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
The five-time consecutive African champions matched China for long periods in a closely contested encounter before falling three points short at the final buzzer.
Despite the defeat, head coach Rena Wakama will be encouraged by her side’s performance against the world’s fourth-ranked team, with D’Tigress set for another test when the two sides meet again in their second exhibition game on Saturday, August 9.
The China leg forms part of a five-stop preparation programme titled “Road to Berlin,” which began with games in the United States from July 29 to August 2 before the squad flew directly to Haikou aboard the Nigeria Basketball Federation’s airline partner, XEJet.
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