U18 Lions eye history at AfroBasket tournament.

The regional qualifiers for the FIBA AfroBasket for Africa’s sub-continental zones have been going on to determine the seven countries to participate in the final tournament in Abidjan, Côte d’ Ivoire.

It should be noted however that Cameroon has already secured a place in the tournament as a semifinalist, alongside Mali, Senegal and Morocco, from the previous tournament in Pretoria, South Africa.

According to FIBA, the 2026 U18 AfroBasketball will also serve as a qualifier for the 2027 FIBA U19 basketball World Cup in Pardubice, Czechia.

Asides Cameroon which played under Zone 4, Chad equally powered through via zonal qualifiers. 

Nigeria finished first in the Zone 3 U18 AfroBasket Qualifiers, defeating the host team, Burkina Faso, 100-54, on Saturday, July 11, in Ouagadougou.

Tunisia secured two wins in as many games of the Zone 1 qualifiers to book their place. They join hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Cameroon, Senegal, Morocco, and Chad and await the next and final phase of the tournament.

The representatives for Zone 2, Zone 5, Zone 6 and zone 7 are yet to be determined.

The U18 basketball Lions are keen on making their mark at the FIBA U18 AfroBasketball tournament and clinch a historic title.

The team competed three times at the FIBA U18 AfroBasket and won two medals with the silver medal in the 2024 tournament. They also qualified for the maiden FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.

Prior to 2024, their best finish was a bronze medal in 1990. This year, they head into the competition with greater ambition to end their elusive search for the coveted title. 

By Bani Martha, Journalism student on internship

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3854 of Tuesday July 21, 2026