Basketball
FRANCE BAG BACK-TO-BACK FIBA WORLD CUP THIRD-PLACE FINISH
France got the better of Australia, 67-59, in a see-saw encounter in the Third-Place Game at the Beijing Wukesong Arena to bag their second consecutive top three finish at the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Just like in their Semi-Finals loss to Argentina, the French slogged through another slow start in a Second Round rematch with Australia, but this time Les Bleus mounted a successful rally late in the third quarter to pull the rug from under Australia and repeat the success of Spain 2014.
As Rudy Gobert and Frank Ntilikina struggled, coach Vincent Collet turned to Nicolas Batum, Nando De Colo, Vincent Poirier and back-up point guard Andrew Albicy in their stirring comeback from as many as 15 points down in the second half.
De Colo led France with 19 points, while Evan Fournier added 16. Albicy stepped up in a big way, hitting three triples in the fourth quarter to boost France’s comeback effort. The Boomers were paced by 17 points from Joe Ingles.
Turning Point: Australia opened up what seemed like a commanding 15-point lead, 38-23, after Joe Ingles drove on Utah Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert and hit the ensuing bonus free throw, but an unsportsmanlike foul by Boomers guard Chris Goulding moments later killed the Aussie momentum and energized the French. Since Goulding’s critical foul, coach Collet’s side would then outscore Australia, 39-17, the rest of the way.
TCL Player of the Game: Nando De Colo came off the bench and provided a big spark for France, scoring 14 of his 19 points in the second half just when France looked on the verge of folding. Aside from scoring, De Colo also added 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 triples to his stat-line.
Stats Don’t Lie: The last time these two teams met, France lost the rebounding battle 30-23. This time around, Les Bleus did a much better job, outrebounding Australia, 38-36. In addition, when their starters sputtered, France’s second unit carried much of the scoring load. The French bench outscored their Boomers counterparts, 38-9, with all but two points coming from the trio of De Colo, Albicy and Poirier.
Bottom Line: For the second edition in a row, France finished on the World Cup podium, bringing home a medal and ending their campaign in China on a very strong note.
Australia finished top four at the World Cup for the first time, but as this is their second time losing in the third-place game after also falling short in Rio 2016, the Boomers have some soul-searching to do.
They Said: “Huge congratulations to France. It’s tough. We just entered the locker room, and you could hear a pin drop. To everyone in Australia who supported us, it all means the world to us. We gave it everything we had. To drop the last two games is never what you want, but we fought to the very end with pride and with passion. I couldn’t be prouder of the team we had and the guys beside us every day.” – Australia guard Mitch Creek
“The biggest hurt comes from having a group of guys who are so committed and passionate to play for the country because they want to rep Australia on the world stage and do something special. To see the hurt in those guys, that’s the bit that’s hard to overcome. There’s so many people involved in basketball in Australia who were hoping for a medal and you want to win for them, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to get that done.” – Australia head coach Andrej Lemanis
“For sure today was a great comeback, but we deserve where we are now. Australia played a real good game, but we never gave up and we stayed together. This made the difference, and this was really good for us.” – France guard Nando De Colo
“It’s something very special and important because we did it after a difficult first and second half. Many other teams could have given up, but we stayed focused and never gave up. Suddenly when it was looking done for us, we started to play much better on offense and defense. At half-time, we said that we just had to find some execution on offense. We started to move the ball better in the second half and that’s why we won this game.” – France head coach Vincent Collet
FIBA
By Ugo Okeiyi, Enugu
The end-of-year Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational Tournament, tagged “Championing the Youth Through Sports, Education and Opportunity,” has taken off and will be concluded on Friday. The three-day event is taking place at the Indoor Sports Multipurpose Gymnasium, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.
The grassroots basketball competition is designed to serve as a platform for discovering and nurturing the next generation of Nigerian basketball talent.
A total of 14 teams — eight male and six female sides drawn from across the country — are competing for honours in what promises to be an exciting three-day basketball spectacle.
The tournament is powered by the Anthony Ozubuekwe Foundation, in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry for Youth and Sports Development and the Enugu State Basketball Association.
Organisers say fans should expect high-quality action, with displays of skill, athleticism and tactical awareness from some of the most promising young players in the country.
According to the organisers, the initiative is structured to positively engage young people, steering them away from social vices and criminal tendencies, while using sports as a tool for education, personal development and opportunity creation.
They added that the tournament will also give coaches and team officials a valuable opportunity to assess the mental readiness, discipline and competitive mindset of the players, while providing a conducive environment for athletes to interact, bond and learn from one another.
The competition will be played in a round-robin format, with attractive prize money on offer. In the men’s category, the champions will receive ₦2 million and a giant trophy, while the runners-up will earn ₦1.5 million.
In the women’s category, the winning team will go home with ₦1.5 million, while the second-placed team will receive ₦750,000.
With its blend of competition, youth empowerment and community development, the Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational is expected to be one of the standout grassroots sports events of the year in Enugu State.
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Former head coach of Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, Alex Nwora, will join family, friends and well-wishers on December 28, 2025, to celebrate the 90th birthday of his father, Chief Charles Okwudi Nworah, in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The milestone celebration, according to Evelyn Childs, Public Relations Officer of the US-based Imo Women Elite Club (IWEC), will take place at the expansive Onitsha compound of the nonagenarian, who is highly regarded in his community.
Born on April 17, 1936, to Akudo and Agnes Nwora of the Okakwu family in Ogbedogwu Village, Onitsha, Chief Nworah’s early years reflected strong family values rooted in education and public service. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School before moving on to Prince Commercial College, and later completed his secondary education at Baptist High School, Osogbo, in Osun State.
Chief Nworah began his career in the civil service at a young age with the Post and Telecommunications Service (P&T), where his father also served and retired as a senior manager. His professional journey continued seamlessly into Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) following the merger of P&T with the Nigerian External Telecommunications.
Alex Nwora, who led D’Tigers through notable periods of growth and international competition, is expected to play a central role in the celebration, which will bring together members of the extended Nwora family and the Onitsha community to honour the life and legacy of the elder statesman.
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred national honours on all members of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, in recognition of their historic victory at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship in Côte d’Ivoire.
Each member of the team was decorated with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) title at a special reception held on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Representing the president at the event was Vice President Kashim Shettima, who announced a series of generous rewards for the champions.
In addition to the national honours, each player will receive $100,000, while each member of the technical crew will be given $50,000. The government also pledged a flat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to every player and official on the squad.
The rewards follow D’Tigress’s emphatic 78-64 win over Mali in Sunday’s AfroBasket final, played at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan. The victory marked Nigeria’s fifth consecutive AfroBasket title, a feat unmatched in the tournament’s history. With the triumph, D’Tigress also secured an automatic berth to the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
President Tinubu, in his remarks delivered by Vice President Shettima, hailed the team’s resilience, determination, and consistency, describing their dominance on the continental stage as a symbol of national pride and inspiration to the youth.
Present at the reception were First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, Garba Maidoki, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youths and Sports Development, and Kabiru Amadou, Chairman of the House Committee on Sports.
The honours and incentives underscore the government’s renewed commitment to recognising excellence in sports and motivating future champions.
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