Nigeria’s Under-18 men’s and women’s basketball teams, the J’Tigers and J’Tigress, will not return to the country as initially scheduled on Monday morning. The delay is due to issues with their carrier, Kenyan Airways.
Originally, both teams were expected to arrive by 11 a.m. on Monday on a Kenyan Airways flight. However, a late update from the Kenyan Airways office in Lagos on Sunday night indicated that the flight has been postponed by two hours, with no immediate explanation provided for the delay. Consequently, the new estimated arrival time is 1:30 p.m.
The J’Tigress, the women’s team, is returning with a ticket to the FIBA U19 World Cup, which will take place in the Czech Republic from July 12 to 20, 2025. They had lost the women’s final match to Mali with a score of 76-56 on Saturday.
The J’Tigers, the men’s team, did not advance to the final game after being defeated by Mali in the semi-finals on Friday. Mali later secured the championship by overcoming Cameroon with a score of 60-51.
The teams that reached the finals will represent Africa at the upcoming world event.
Written By; Christopher Emuakpeje