ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - On Sunday, we will see a repeat of the 2024 final between Mali and Nigeria, as both teams seek to claim the ultimate prize at the FIBA U18 Women's Afrobasket 2026.
The venue is the Palais des Sports dome in Treichville, where the two teams will line up to decide who will take the crown.
As reigning champions, Mali will do everything they can to win their 10th title. In 2024, Mali defeated Nigeria 76–56 in Pretoria, South Africa.
The big question now is whether the 2026 final will be a repeat, or if Nigeria will cause an upset and win their first crown in the championship's history.
Mali's track record clearly shows them to be the most dominant nation, with nine titles and two silver medals to their credit, as opposed to Nigeria's two silver medals.
To reach the FIBA U18 Women's Afrobasket 2026 final, Mali defeated all of their Group B opponents (Benin 124–20, Morocco 103–30, and Egypt 62–57) to top the group with six points, scoring a total of 289 points while conceding 107.
In the quarter-final, they thrashed Kenya 93–22 and defeated Egypt for a second time in the competition in the semi-final by 57–55. In total, they scored 493 points while conceding 184.
As a high-scoring team, Mali will be relying on Maimouna Traoré, Suzane Dembélé, Assan Mariko, Couda Keita and Aminata Samaké.
Jean Mary Diomande is not hiding her team's goal here in Abidjan, saying that they are determined to win the title again: 'Of course we are the champions, and we know Nigeria. Our job here is to win the title."
Nigeria, on the other hand, finished the group stage with a 2–1 record, having won their opening game 54–50 against Tunisia, suffered a heartbreaking 75–74 loss to Cameroon, and beaten Senegal 70–40.
This gave them a group total of 219, while they conceded 164, putting them five points behind Cameroon.
In the quarter-final, the Junior D'Tigress faced Cameroon again, but this time it was a different ball game, with the Junior D'Tigress emerging victorious with a 75-45 win.
They then went on to face the hosts, Côte d'Ivoire, in the semi-final, winning the crunch encounter 53-50. Nigeria scored a total of 347 points and allowed 259.
Coach Peter Akindele and his staff will rely on Favour Anari, Zainab Adelaja, Oluwatobiloba Owolabi, Nimah Ibidunni, Bisola Arowolo and Khadijah Alli to make the difference.
Oluwatobiloba Owolabi says that the game against Mali will be a different ball game. 'We're aware that they are the defending champions and beat Nigeria in the 2024 final, but it won't be easy for Mali this time. As a team, we're determined to change the narrative this time."
Although both Mali and Nigeria have secured places at the 2027 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup, this match is for the continental title.
FIBA