Basketball: D’Tigers end year as Africa’s best

Nigeria’s male national basketball team, D’Tigers, dropped one spot from their 32nd position to 33rd in the latest FIBA world ranking released on Thursday.

The 2017 FIBA AfroBasket runner-up, D’Tigers amassed 292.8 points to retain their status as the best team in Africa heading into the new year.

Angola moved up one spot from third to second in Africa and one as well in the world ranking from 37 to 36 recording 266.0 points after winning all three of their games in the African Qualifiers.

Senegal occupies the third position with 261.2 points to finish 39th in the world ranking.

Tunisia and Egypt maintained the fourth and fifth place to be ranked 51st and 52nd respectively in the world ranking.

D’Tigers are one of the 47 teams that dropped in the ranking despite having qualified for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup in China.

In the global ranking, USA remains the top team in the world and they are followed by Spain, France, Serbia, and Argentina in the top five. Lituania, Slovenia, Greece, Croatia, and Australia completes the top 10.