World Cup Shock D’Tigress Fall 71-67 To Hungary In Second Straight Loss

Nigeria’s D’Tigress have suffered a second consecutive defeat at the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after losing 71-67 to Hungary in their Group B encounter in Berlin, Germany, on Saturday, September 5.

The Nigerian side entered the fixture hoping to recover from their 99-81 opening-game defeat to South Korea, while Hungary were also seeking a response after suffering a heavy 99-53 loss to France.

Hungary started the contest strongly and maintained control for large portions of the game, with Juhasz and Takacs-Kiss combining for 36 points to spearhead their offensive performance.

The European side also demonstrated greater shooting efficiency and made good use of their advantage inside the paint, where they scored 42 points. Hungary further strengthened their dominance by recording 38 defensive rebounds, limiting Nigeria’s opportunities to create second-chance points.

D’Tigress attempted to fight their way back into the contest and produced periods of improved play, but Hungary managed to maintain a lead of around 10 points for much of the second half.

Nigeria mounted a late comeback effort, but the rally came too late to overturn Hungary’s advantage as the European side held on for a four-point victory.

The result represents Hungary’s first victory at the Women’s Basketball World Cup in 28 years and another setback for D’Tigress, who entered the tournament ranked eighth in the FIBA world rankings.

Despite their defeat, Nigeria remain significantly higher in the rankings than Hungary, who are placed 19th, making the result another notable upset at the tournament.

D’Tigress will now face France in their final Group B match on Monday, September 7, in a crucial encounter that could determine their chances of advancing to the knockout stage.

Nigeria will need to secure victory against the highly ranked French side to keep their hopes of progressing in the competition alive, while another defeat would bring their World Cup campaign to an end.