Oh Nigeria and, ah yes, France <\/p>\n
Before this tournament, Nigeria were everyone\u2019s dark horses. D\u2019Tigress have been stepping up noticeably in international play in recent years. Some good performances at the Paris Olympics and the qualifiers for the 2026 FIBA World Cup got people\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n
Then they went 0-2 to start this tournament, including a dismal display against Korea, and were eliminated from the competition. That was because France\u2019s win over Korea on Saturday meant there\u2019s no path to even third place due to tiebreakers.<\/p>\n
Korea had a great first quarter against France, taking a 31-24 lead, and the Max Schmeling Halle crowd felt there was an upset in the officing. Then they went on a 15-2 run to start the second quarter and the job was done. France have secured top spot and a place in the quarter finals before they even play their last game against Nigeria.<\/p>\n
BallinEurope has a book, a real life actual book called I Like it Loud, and you can buy it on Amazon now. It\u2019s here as a book<\/a> and here in Kindle form<\/a>.<\/p>\n Monday is already looking tasty <\/p>\n There\u2019s only one session that looks remotely skippable on Monday, the second one when France face Nigeria and Korea take on Hungary. The only thing to be decided is who comes second and who comes third between the latter pair but both are in the play-in.<\/p>\n Still, Belgium vs Australia to kick off Monday has been locked in as the blockbuster game of the group phase since the draw. Italy vs China in the late session may prove very important for the play-ins depending on Sunday\u2019s results, particularly Czechia vs China.<\/p>\n Of course, it\u2019s the Group A madness that will take centre stage. The third session has Spain vs Japan in the Max Schmeling and Germany vs Mali in the Uber Arena. All 4 teams are level on 1-1. All four can win the group or be eliminated. It\u2019s going to be chaotic madness.<\/p>\n Mali had every reason to celebrate after producing the shock result of the tournament against Spain. (Pic: FIBA)<\/p>\n Finally, an update on your correspondent\u2019s health <\/p>\n Regular readers of this site will be aware that I\u2019ve been dealing with a B12 issue for quite some time. A series of injections in the first half of the year appeared to have addressed it well. That was until they stopped and the last month or so has been back to the bad norm.<\/p>\n In the context of our coverage of the 2026 FIBA Women\u2019s World Cup, it has basically knocked out the morning and early afternoon sessions through the first two days. My body literally has insufficient energy to get up and function on even the most basic level in the front half of the day.<\/p>\n The goal for the next two days is to get the early game in and then immediately take a break for the following session. I\u2019ll see how that goes but it\u2019s very much condition management rather than fixing until I get back to Dublin. The good news is the issue doesn\u2019t come with pain, just a whole load of annoyance.<\/p>\n Sep 5, 2026Emmet Ryan<\/p>\n<\/p>\n