Nigerian Women Make African History In Olympic Basketball


(MENAFN- The Peninsula) #Paris 2024 AFP

Paris: Nigeria's women became the first team from the African continent, men or women, ever to reach the quarter-finals of an Olympic basketball tournament on Sunday.

The Nigerians clinched their place in the last eight by beating Canada 79-70 at the Pierre-Mauroy Stadium near Lille.

Nigeria's #22 Blessing Ejiofor and Nigeria's #03 Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah celebrate with their country's national flag after Nigeria won the women's preliminary round group B basketball match between Canada and Nigeria during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, northern France, on August 4, 2024. (Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP)

The win means Nigeria are guaranteed to finish among the top three in Group B but the Canadians were eliminated without registering a single victory.

The Nigerians outscored the Canadians 23-5 in the third quarter. US-born Ezinne Kalu top-scored with 21 points and Elizabeth Balogun scored 14 points.

The draw for the women's quarter-finals will be made later Sunday with the games to be played on Wednesday.

The knockout stages of the men's and women's basketball tournament will be played in Paris.

Read Also
  • Philippines' Carlos Yulo wins second Olympic gold in men's vault
  • Algeria's Kaylia Nemour wins gold in uneven bars
  • Novak Djokovic wins his first Olympic gold by beating Carlos Alcaraz

MENAFN04082024000063011010ID1108515923


The Peninsula

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.