Preview: Nigeria Begins FIBA U-19 Women’s Basketball World Cup Campaign Against China

Nigeria’s U-19 Women’s Basketball team will face China in their first game of the 2025 FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup scheduled to take place in Brno, Czechia from Saturday, July 12 to Sunday, July 20, 2025.

Nigeria will vie for the title from Group B against two-time bronze medalist Canada(2017 & 2023), one-time bronze medalist China(2005) and debutants Portugal.

The J’Tigress secured the second of two tickets to represent Africa in Brno, Czechia, by finishing second behind Mali at last year’s FIBA Africa U18 Championship for Women in Pretoria, South Africa.

Nigeria’s 12-player roster

Nigeria was initially set to make their debut in Chile by finishing second behind hosts Egypt in the 2010 FIBA Africa U18 Championship for Women in Cairo but they ended up not participating. They now have a second chance at glory.

Their first opponent, China, has had a roller-coaster ride in the competition. In the inaugural edition in 1985, China performed well and finished in fourth place. In 1989, they ranked ninth; in 1993, they came in eleventh; and in 1997, they improved to seventh place. In 2001, they again placed ninth, but in 2005, they achieved a breakthrough by securing third place and winning a bronze medal.

However, in 2007 and 2009, they ranked eleventh again. In 2011, they finished ninth, followed by an improvement to fifth in 2013 and a drop to seventh place in 2015 and 2017. In 2019, they improved to fifth place. In 2021, China did not participate, and upon their return in 2023, they finished in thirteenth place.

Group B rankings:

Nigeria ranked 16th overall.

Portugal ranked eleventh overall – Debutants.

China (Seventh) – bronze medalists in 2005.

Canada ( third) – bronze medallist in 2017 and 2023.

U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup format.

All 16 teams participating in the event will advance to the competition’s Final Phase with a single-elimination format in place from the Round of 16 onwards. The teams from Group A will face teams from Group B, based on standings within these groups (1st vs 4th – 2nd vs 3rd) and teams from Group C will face teams from Group D.