2022 FIBA WWCQ: D'Tigress Beat Mali To Seal Qualification Ticket

2022 FIBA WWCQ: D'Tigress Beat Mali To Seal Qualification Ticket Sampson Adedeji Nigeria's D'Tigress lived up to expectations on Sunday as they beat their counterparts from Mali to seal 2022 FIFA Women World Cup qualification, BSNsports.com.ng can report. The Nigeria side bounced back strongly in the second group game, beating World number 5 France having lost their first game to China. Despite beating France, D'Tigress needed to beat their African rival, Mali to be sure of a place at the World Cup in Australia and they did just that. D'Tigress started the game on a shaky note losing the first quarter to Mali 20-22 but rose to the occasion in the second quarter taking the lead at the end of the quarter by 42-35. By the end of the third quarter the Afrobasket champion has shown their superiority creating a 20 points gap to finish the third 64-44 points. The Malians pushed the Nigerians hard in the final quarter and at some point reduced their deficit to 2 points but the character and experience of a champion played out in the final minute as D'Tigress won the game by 4 points (73-69). With the outcome of the match, D'Tigress has automatically sealed their qualification to the FIBA Women World Cup slated for Australia later this year.