Nigeria's Under-18 Men's Basketball team, known as the J’Tigers, has been eliminated from the 2024 Afrobasket U-18 Championship after suffering an 81-70 defeat to Mali in the quarterfinals on Thursday evening.

From the outset, the Mali team aggressively challenged their Nigerian rivals, securing a 23-19 lead in the first quarter and maintaining a narrow advantage at halftime with a score of 40-38. Despite the J’Tigers' attempts to regain control, Mali ultimately secured the victory in the match held in Pretoria, South Africa.

The top two teams from this championship will earn spots in the FIBA World Championship set to take place in Switzerland.

In contrast, the J’Tigress advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday, defeating Egypt 61-56 in their quarterfinal matchup. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, this victory sets the stage for the Nigerian women to face Uganda in the semifinals on Friday night.

Additionally, the Rwanda Under-18 men's national team was also eliminated from the FIBA AfroBasket 2024 following a surprising 53-67 loss to Cameroon at the University of Pretoria Gymnasium on Thursday.

Rwanda began the game strongly, winning the first quarter 16-14, but Cameroon responded by taking the second quarter 22-16, leading 36-32 at halftime. Although Rwanda fought back to win the third quarter 17-15, they faltered in the final quarter, where Cameroon dominated with a 16-4 performance, leading to Rwanda's exit from the tournament.

As a result, Cameroon advanced to the semifinals. Despite facing shooting difficulties, Amadou Seini of Cameroon led the team with 15 points and 23 rebounds, while Hermann Bel Daryl Bay also contributed 15 points. For Rwanda, Dylan Kayijuka scored 19 points, and Sean Mwesigwa added 12 points. Rwanda will now participate in a classification game for the 5th to 8th positions.