Sports
AfroBasket: D’Tigress thrash Rwanda, Begins Title Defence
Nigeria’s senior national team, D’Tigress, began the defence of their continental title in brilliant fashion, following a commanding 92-45 victory over Rwanda in their opening group game on Saturday at the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket tournament currently taking place in the Ivory Coast.
The six-time African champions, who are yet to lose a game at the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket tournament since the semi-finals of the 2015 edition, continued their unbeaten run by dismissing the Rwandans in emphatic style at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, having won all four quarters of the clash by a score of 17-8, 28-17, 26-12, and 21-8 respectively.
Coach Rena Wakama’s side registered 70 field goal attempts and recorded 35 field goals made throughout the contest. The team also made a total of 44 rebounds, 25 assists, 14 steals and two blocks in the statement win.
Rwanda, on the other hand, put up 52 field goal attempts and managed just 15 field goals made. Total rebounds stood at a paltry 28, while they recorded 11 assists, nine steals, three blocks and a whopping 22 turnovers.
Top performers for Nigeria were Elizabeth Balogun, Victoria Macaulay, Murjanatu Musa, Ifunaya Okoro, and Amy Okonkwo, who all registered double-figure point hauls. Balogun scored a game-high 18 points and four rebounds, Macaulay had 13 points, Musa chipped in with 12 points and five rebounds, Okoro added 11 points, while Okonkwo contributed 10 points and four rebounds. Every member of the D’Tigress squad scored on the day, with new entrant Vera Ojenuwa registering four points in her debut for the national team.
Meanwhile, Rwanda’s best player on the day was Destiney Philoxy, who put up 11 points and four rebounds, while Keisha Hampton also reached double figures, scoring 10 points in the heavy defeat.
Nigeria will next face Mozambique in their second and final round-robin fixture on Monday, with a win enough to see the defending champions into the quarter-finals of the competition.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
-
Featured3 days agoWASSCE: RSG Distributes Science Materials To Secondary Schools
-
News4 days ago
Xenophobic Attacks: Nigerian Lives More Important Than Foreign Investment – Oshiomhole
-
Rivers4 days ago
MBA Forex Trial Adjourn To June 3, Amid Bereavement … As Court Declines Cost Application
-
News4 days ago
ActionAid Demands Probe Of Govs Using Public Funds For Campaign
-
Aviation4 days ago
Passengers Stranded As Delta Airline From Atlanta Route Back Eight Hours After
-
Business4 days ago
Customs Impound N2.35bn Cocaine, 15 Trailers of Rice
-
Politics4 days ago
2027: Bayelsa Senator Gets Critical Endorsement For Second Term
-
Politics4 days agoINEC Sets Rivers South-East Senatorial By-Election For June 20