Rwanda's FIBA World Cup qualifiers group: A look at opponent nations' legacy

National teams from four regions entering the FIBA World Cup 2027 qualification have noted their opponents drawn in the same group. Rwanda's men’s national basketball team, currently sitting at the 90th spot in the world ranking, has been drawn into Group C alongside Nigeria, Guinea, and Tunisia for the upcoming qualifiers, which will commence in November.

Looking at the legacy of the "Land of a Thousand Hills'" opponents in previous FIBA World Cup qualifiers, one might ask, "But what can these big African nations do at the qualifiers?" starting with Nigeria, the only African team to defeat the US, recently in 2020 at the Summer Olympics.

Nicknamed "The Eagles of Carthage," Tunisia's men's national basketball team is ranked 26th in the FIBA world ranking, along with Guinea.

Ballerzone African is going to unpack the legacy of Rwanda’s opponent African countries in the same Group competing to qualify for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.

Nigeria

The history of basketball in Nigeria dates back to the late 1950s when Walid Zabadne served as the first basketball coach to train Nigerians. After struggling to even establish the basketball federation, they qualified for the inaugural FIBA World Cup in 2006.

As the top African team at the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Nigeria qualified for their third consecutive Olympics berth for the 2020 Summer Olympics. The team, which included seven NBA players and was led by Golden State Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown, was called up for training in the United States in June 2021. D'Tigers defeated the United States 90-87 during an exhibition game in Las Vegas on July 10th. The victory, described as an "upset," was the first for an African team against the United States.

Currently, Nigeria sits at the 42nd spot in the FIBA world ranking.

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Tunisia

In 2011, the Tunisian national team became the champion of Africa for the first time in its history, defeating the Angola team in the AfroBasket final. The team's previous success was a silver medal at the home African championship in 1965. The team also won bronze medals in the 1970, 1974, 2009, and 2015 competitions.

They have appeared once at the Olympic Games and twice at the FIBA World Cup.

Guinea

The West African country is currently ranked 76th in the world ranking. Guinea has played at the AfroBasket six times, with its best performance being fourth place in 1962.

Despite their appearances at AfroBasket,the squad has never qualified for the FIBA World Cup.

The draw laid out the initial pathways for all nations pursuing a precious place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027, where 32 nations will compete for the prestigious Naismith Trophy.

Taking place across six dedicated windows between November 2025 and March 2027, there will be 420 games to enjoy worldwide.

A story by Ballerzone.