Nigeria, Aug. 15 -- Nigeria's Junior D'Tigress have booked their place at the 2027 FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup after a hard-fought 53-50 win over hosts Cote d'Ivoire in Friday's semi-final at the 2026 FIBA U18 Women's AfroBasket in Abidjan.

The victory also sent Nigeria into the AfroBasket final for the second straight edition, while ending the hosts' impressive run in front of their home fans.

Nigeria will now face defending champions Mali in Sunday's final, setting up a repeat of the 2024 final in Pretoria.

The game was close from start to finish, with 11 lead changes and seven ties as both teams battled for a place in the final and one of Africa's two tickets to next year's World Cup in China.

Nigeria started slightly bet...