African champions Nigeria’s D’Tigress suffered an 99-81 defeat to South Korea in their opening Group B game of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin yesterday.

D’Tigress started brightly with a 6-0 run, but South Korea recovered to take a 26-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Nigeria responded strongly in the second quarter, edging the period 23-22 to reduce the deficit to three points, with South Korea taking a 48-45 lead into half-time.

Amy Okonkwo spearheaded Nigeria’s third-quarter fightback, scoring 10 points as D’Tigress closed the gap to just one point at 59-58.

South Korea, however, regained control to lead 68-62 heading into the final quarter before pulling away decisively.

The Koreans outscored D’Tigress 31-19 in the fourth quarter to secure an 18-point victory, with Jihyun Park leading all scorers with 27 points. Nigeria’s 20 turnovers also proved costly.

Okonkwo finished with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Ezinne Kalu contributed 11 points and five assists. Victoria Macaulay added 10 points, while Murjanatu Musa recorded a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, including nine offensive rebounds.

Musa became only the fourth Nigerian to record a double-double at the Women’s World Cup, joining Mfon Udoka, Evelyn Akhator and Itoro Umoh.

Her 13 rebounds also matched Akhator’s Nigerian record for the most rebounds by a Nigerian player in a World Cup game.

Elsewhere, Japan defeated Mali 102-97 in Group A, with Saki Hayashi hitting a record nine three-pointers as Japan made a Women’s World Cup-record 20 three-point shots.

Australia defeated Puerto Rico 70-54 in Group C, while the United States began their title defence with a 94-61 victory over China in Group D.