A claim that no African country has won the Olympics men’s basketball game since 1996 has gone viral on the internet.
The claim was made by an X user, @Joe__Bassey, following the victory of South Sudan over Puerto Rico on July 28, 2024 in their debut game at the ongoing Paris Olympics in France.
The post read:
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CLAIM
No African country has won a game at the Olympics men’s basketball since 1996.
THE FINDINGS
Findings by The FactCheckHub indicate that the claim is FALSE, as the Nigerian men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, won two matches at the London 2012 Olympics and Rio 2016 Olympics respectively.
The Nigerian men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, won their first game against Tunisia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, UK. D’Tigers won with the final scores of 60-56 at the opening game of Olympic men’s basketball competition. Both African teams made their debuts in the Olympic men’s basketball game, VOANews and Channels TV reported.
This made them qualify to the next rounds with Lithuania. However, Lithuania beats Nigeria with the final scores of 72-53.
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Also, the Nigerian men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, won their match against Croatia at the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This gave them a shot to qualify for the quarterfinals of Olympics men’s basketball where they played against the host country, Brazil. However, D’Tigers lost to Brazil in a 69-86 game, their 5th match in group B.
THE VERDICT
The claim that no African country has won a game at the Olympics men’s basketball since 1996 is FALSE; Nigeria’s men basketball team, D’Tigers, won two games at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics respectively.
Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].
