Basketball
FRANCE BAG BACK-TO-BACK FIBA WORLD CUP THIRD-PLACE FINISH
France got the better of Australia, 67-59, in a see-saw encounter in the Third-Place Game at the Beijing Wukesong Arena to bag their second consecutive top three finish at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Just like in their Semi-Finals loss to Argentina, the French slogged through another slow start in a Second Round rematch with Australia, but this time Les Bleus mounted a successful rally late in the third quarter to pull the rug from under Australia and repeat the success of Spain 2014.
As Rudy Gobert and Frank Ntilikina struggled, coach Vincent Collet turned to Nicolas Batum, Nando De Colo, Vincent Poirier and back-up point guard Andrew Albicy in their stirring comeback from as many as 15 points down in the second half.
De Colo led France with 19 points, while Evan Fournier added 16. Albicy stepped up in a big way, hitting three triples in the fourth quarter to boost France’s comeback effort. The Boomers were paced by 17 points from Joe Ingles.
Turning Point: Australia opened up what seemed like a commanding 15-point lead, 38-23, after Joe Ingles drove on Utah Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert and hit the ensuing bonus free throw, but an unsportsmanlike foul by Boomers guard Chris Goulding moments later killed the Aussie momentum and energized the French. Since Goulding’s critical foul, coach Collet’s side would then outscore Australia, 39-17, the rest of the way.
TCL Player of the Game: Nando De Colo came off the bench and provided a big spark for France, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the second half just when France looked on the verge of folding. Aside from scoring, De Colo also added 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 triples to his stat-line.
Stats Don’t Lie: The last time these two teams met, France lost the rebounding battle 30-23. This time around, Les Bleus did a much better job, outrebounding Australia, 38-36. In addition, when their starters sputtered, France’s second unit carried much of the scoring load. The French bench outscored their Boomers counterparts, 38-9, with all but two points coming from the trio of De Colo, Albicy and Poirier.
Bottom Line: For the second edition in a row, France finished on the World Cup podium, bringing home a medal and ending their campaign in China on a very strong note.
Australia finished top four at the World Cup for the first time, but as this is their second time losing in the third-place game after also falling short in Rio 2016, the Boomers have some soul-searching to do.
They Said: “Huge congratulations to France. It’s tough. We just entered the locker room, and you could hear a pin drop. To everyone in Australia who supported us, it all means the world to us. We gave it everything we had. To drop the last two games is never what you want, but we fought to the very end with pride and with passion. I couldn’t be prouder of the team we had and the guys beside us every day.” – Australia guard Mitch Creek
“The biggest hurt comes from having a group of guys who are so committed and passionate to play for the country because they want to rep Australia on the world stage and do something special. To see the hurt in those guys, that’s the bit that’s hard to overcome. There’s so many people involved in basketball in Australia who were hoping for a medal and you want to win for them, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to get that done.” – Australia head coach Andrej Lemanis
“For sure today was a great comeback, but we deserve where we are now. Australia played a real good game, but we never gave up and we stayed together. This made the difference, and this was really good for us.” – France guard Nando De Colo
“It’s something very special and important because we did it after a difficult first and second half. Many other teams could have given up, but we stayed focused and never gave up. Suddenly when it was looking done for us, we started to play much better on offense and defense. At half-time, we said that we just had to find some execution on offense. We started to move the ball better in the second half and that’s why we won this game.” – France head coach Vincent Collet
FIBA
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred national honours on all members of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, in recognition of their historic victory at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship in Côte d’Ivoire.
Each member of the team was decorated with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) title at a special reception held on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Representing the president at the event was Vice President Kashim Shettima, who announced a series of generous rewards for the champions.
In addition to the national honours, each player will receive $100,000, while each member of the technical crew will be given $50,000. The government also pledged a flat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to every player and official on the squad.
The rewards follow D’Tigress’s emphatic 78-64 win over Mali in Sunday’s AfroBasket final, played at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan. The victory marked Nigeria’s fifth consecutive AfroBasket title, a feat unmatched in the tournament’s history. With the triumph, D’Tigress also secured an automatic berth to the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
President Tinubu, in his remarks delivered by Vice President Shettima, hailed the team’s resilience, determination, and consistency, describing their dominance on the continental stage as a symbol of national pride and inspiration to the youth.
Present at the reception were First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, Garba Maidoki, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youths and Sports Development, and Kabiru Amadou, Chairman of the House Committee on Sports.
The honours and incentives underscore the government’s renewed commitment to recognising excellence in sports and motivating future champions.
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Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated the national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, on their triumphant outing at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, describing the victory as a testament to the nation’s indomitable spirit and sporting excellence.
In line with what the women’s football team, Super Falcons, experienced barely a week ago, another dollar rainfall could be in the offing for the basketball team.
In a statement released Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu praised the Coach Rena Wakama-led side for their “skill, resilience, determination, and teamwork,” which powered them to a 78–64 victory over Mali in Sunday night’s pulsating final at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
With this win, Nigeria extended their dominance in African women’s basketball, securing their fifth consecutive AfroBasket title and seventh overall, further solidifying their status as the continent’s most successful women’s team.
The President, who had earlier dispatched a nine-man presidential delegation to Abidjan to support the team in the final, commended the players for rising to the occasion despite a slow start that saw them lose the first quarter to a determined Malian side.
“Your superb performance throughout the competition has made Nigeria proud. Like the Super Falcons, you have inspired our young ladies. You embodied the indomitable Nigerian spirit, the power of unity, and the rewards of hard work,” President Tinubu said.
He added that D’Tigress’ sustained excellence had “written their names in history” and served as a beacon of what Africa can offer on the global sporting stage.
The President also praised Head Coach Rena Wakama and her technical crew for their outstanding leadership, and commended the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) for their steadfast support to the team.
In an apparent nod to the recent cash rewards showered on the Super Falcons, there is strong speculation that a similar financial windfall may await D’Tigress on their return to Nigeria.
“The Federal Government and Nigerians will never forget the sacrifices and remain grateful for the highly elevating performances,” Tinubu stated, assuring the team of continued support as they prepare for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournaments next March.
President Tinubu concluded his message by expressing eagerness to personally receive the victorious team and their trophy in Abuja and wished them a safe trip back home.
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South Sudan’s Bright Starlets are the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket bronze medallist.
The debutants who made the competition on a wild card, stunned 11-time champions Senegal 66-65 in the Third-Place Game on Sunday, August 3 to clinch their first ever medal in the continental showpiece.
Their win over Senegal, who were looking to end a decade-long wait for gold, makes it the third time the West Africans have missed out on the podium in 26 editions. They missed in the inaugural edition in 1966 and in 2021 in Cameroon, finishing fourth on both occasions.
Senegal had a start to forget, scoring a single point in the opening seven minutes, finishing the period trailing 26-10. An 18-9 show in the second stanza got their comeback efforts going.
South Sudan still had a 10-point lead with 4 minutes and 41 seconds to play in the third, but Victorine Thiaw contributed seven in a 10-0 run for the Senegalese, to level the score at 44 and it was game on.
Khadija Faye handed Senegal their first short-lived lead at 46-45, but they trailed 50-48 heading to the final quarter.
Lena Timera gave the 11-time champions their biggest lead yet with a step back jump shot from deep for 58-54 but the debutants refused to budge.
A dramatic final minute saw Thiaw and Faye miss four crucial points from the charity stripe with the score tied at 65. Cierra Dillard’s foul with 6 seconds left gave Nyamer Lual Diew the chance to win it for South Sudan, converting one for the massive victory.
HERO
Maria Teresa Gakdeng, on debut for the Bright Starlets, has continued to prove a formidable addition for the East Africans, and she demonstrated that yet again with a huge performance.
She came two blocks shy of a triple-double after shooting for 14, the team’s second highest, while grabbing 13 rebounds and added three assists to finish with an efficiency rating of 26.
Skipper Adut Bulgak scored 14 as well, while leading the side on defense with 11 of her 13 rebounds. Delicia Washington was the side’s top scorer with 22, coming two assists off a double-double and adding 5 rebounds.
The trio will, however, have Diew to thank for the victory in regulation time, as a miss would probably have send the match to overtime.
STATS DON’T LIE
Despite allowing Senegal to score 30 from their 29 turnovers, and missing 14 of their 32 chances from the charity stripe, South Sudan kept themselves in the game with a better show on field goals where they converted 45.8% of their chances against Senegal’s 38.3%.
They out rebounded Senegal 44-26, 29-17 on defense to deny the 2023 silver medalist any second chance scoring opportunities.
BOTTOM LINE
South Sudan have left an indelible mark on debut, reaching the podium in a historic run that saw them come from two losses in the Group Phase to beat Egypt, Uganda and Senegal for the very first time and become the first debutant to be on the podium.
The West Africans, meanwhile, will have some reflections as they are yet to reclaim their dominance of yesteryears. This is the second time since their last title in 2015 that they are missing out on the podium.
WHAT THEY SAID: “Wins happen, losses happen, you can’t win them all. What really matters in sports is how you regroup the next day. You have to have a short memory in this field.
Speaking to our resilience as a team and the mental toughness that took to overcome what happened yesterday [semifinal loss against Mali] and throughout this tournament… 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.
FIBA
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
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