Nigeria won the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket title after edging out Mali 78-64 in a thrilling final staged at a packed Palais des Sports, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Sunday, Aug 03, setting a record of five continental titles in a row.
When the tournament tipped off on July 26, the D’Tigress shared a record of winning the Women’s AfroBasket title four times in a row with Senegal; the team’s semifinal meeting proving to be a mouth-watering clash.
Nigeria won 75-68 to book a final ticket against a Mali side which defeated debutants South Sudan 76-50 in the second semi.
Against Mali, in a rematch of the 2021 final, Nigeria got off to a slow start before fighting back to a 41-41 tie in the second quarter.
In the third quarter, Rena Wakama’s team regrouped and never looked back courtesy of 49 points shared between Amy Okonkwo, Ezinne Kalu and Victoria Macaulay, accounting for more than half of Nigeria’s 78 points.
“It’s a mental thing. With a good team like them, when you’re ahead, you have to stay focused because they’re strong mentally and really good,” said Mali forward Sika Kone, linking their defeat to lapse in concentration.
“You have to be ready for the whole game and be able to beat them,” she added.
The Nigerians have now won five consecutive Women’s AfroBasket titles, starting with 2017 in Mali. Senegal won four consecutive titles between 1974 and 1981.
And to prove that the tides had probably shifted from Senegal to Nigeria, the D’Tigress’s last four titles were won after defeating Senegal.
South Sudan’s Bright Starlets stunned 11-time champions Senegal 66-65 in the third playoff match to finish third, and become the first debutants in history to win a medal.
South Sudan made it to the competition on a wild card.
“This is our first run in AfroBasket and our team deserves to be here. The girls have shown it this time around, especially of how young they are. I am looking forward to what the future has for us,” South Sudan power forward Adut Bulgak told fiba.basketball.
Meanwhile, Nigerian forward Amy Okonkwo was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second consecutive tournament, after she averaged 14 points, 6 rebounds and an efficiency rating of 15.6 in the competition.
As such, she headlined the All-Tournament Team alongside Cierra Dillard (Senegal), Delicia Washington (South Sudan), Jane Asinde (Uganda) and Sika Kone (Mali).
The four semifinalists – Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and South Sudan will compete in four FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 qualifying tournaments, with each tourney featuring six teams.
The competitions will determine the 16 teams that will compete in the 20th edition of the Women’s World Cup in Germany, from 4-13 September, 2026.
Final Standing of the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket:
1. Nigeria
2. Mali
3. South Sudan
4. Senegal
5. Cameroon
6. Mozambique
7. Cote d’Ivoire
8. Uganda
9. Egypt
10. Angola
11. Rwanda
12. Guinea
