The J’Tigers and J’Tigress, Nigeria’s Under-18 men’s and women’s basketball teams, will not be visiting the nation on Monday morning earlier announced.
Their carrier, Kenyan Airways, is to blame for the delay in their return.
Ugo Udezue, the head of Nigeria’s delegation to the Afrobasket U18 tournament, which wrapped up on Saturday night in South Africa, had verified the team’s first itinerary by Sunday.
“Both teams are arriving in the country by 11am on Monday aboard a Kenyan Airways flight,” he said.
However, an updated message at Sunday midnight that originated from the Kenyan Airways office in Lagos detailed that the flight had been pushed back by two hours. The reason for the delay was not immediately made available.
“Our arrival in Lagos has shifted from 11:30am to 1:30pm. Delay from the Kenya (Airways) Lagos leg,” a message from one of those handling the flight services read,
The ladies are returning home with a ticket to the FIBA U19 World Cup that will be held in the Czech Republic from July 12 to 20, 2025. J’Tigress lost the women’s final match to Mali 76-56 on Saturday.
J’Tigers could not make it to the final game as they were beaten by Mali in the semi-finals on Friday. Mali successfully defended their top position by beating Cameroon 60-51 on Saturday.
The two teams in the final matches will represent Africa at the world event.
