Nigeria has advanced to the quarterfinals, becoming the first African team to reach this stage in Olympic women’s basketball history. Their reward is a highly anticipated matchup against the seven-time defending champion, the United States, in Paris on Wednesday. The Olympic women’s basketball draw was announced late Sunday night.
The other quarterfinal matchups include Spain versus Belgium, France against Germany, and Serbia facing Australia. The winners of the Spain-Belgium and France-Germany games will meet in the semifinals on Friday. The victor of the Nigeria-U.S. match will play the winner of the Serbia-Australia game.
Nigeria’s women’s basketball team made history as the first African country to advance to the elimination round in either the men’s or women’s Olympic basketball tournaments. The team expressed excitement about heading to Paris for the next stage of the competition.
“The Eiffel Tower, croissants, more food,” said Ezinne Kalu, who led Nigeria with 21 points in their win over Canada on Sunday. “I mean, the little village has been great, but it’s only basketball there. So to go to Paris and see other athletes competing in their sports and just be around the great energy of so many different countries, and to be the only African club there for basketball competing, it just really means a lot to us. And it’s something that we’re not going to take for granted.”
Nigeria secured their spot in the quarterfinals after finishing third in their pool, following a strong performance despite a loss to Australia, who beat France 79-72. The Opals, aiming to finish at the top of their group, managed to avoid playing the U.S. team, which suffered its first loss of the tournament against the home team, France.
“I’m just happy to survive. So, we got an opportunity to keep playing,” said Australia coach Sandy Brondello.
As Nigeria prepares for their matchup against the United States, the team is focused on making the most of their historic journey and continuing to inspire athletes across Africa and beyond.
