Nigeria’s D’Tigress have made history by winning an unprecedented fifth consecutive #AfroBasketWomen title, becoming the first African country to achieve this feat.
Nigeria edged out Mali 78-64 in a tense showdown, displaying resilience and composure to claim their seventh AfroBasket title.
They have dominated African women’s basketball, winning their 29th consecutive game without a single loss since 2015.
As with most of their early games in the tournament, Nigeria got off to a slow start.
However, spurred by Mali’s intensity, Rena Wakama’s side regrouped in the second quarter and headed into halftime with the scores level at 41–41.
To qualify for the final against Mali, Nigeria had to dig deep to defeat Senegal 75-68 in a hotly-contested game, rightly dubbed “final before the final”
A standout performance by Amy Okonkwo and Ezinne Kalu on Sunday night was critical to ensuring that the D’Tigress retain the title for a historic fifth consecutive time.
While Okonkwo contribute 19 points on the night, Kalu delivered 20 points, including several crucial baskets in the second and third quarters.
Promise Amukamara and Victoria Macaulay also made key contributions, while Musa added nine crucial points and four rebounds in a game that once again showcased Nigeria’s depth.
The Third quarter of the game proved to be very decisive, with the Nigerian ladies tightening their defence to outscore the Malians 20-15.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, he Nigerians led 61–56 and went on from there to win the game.
The victory has cemented the D’Tigress’ place as the most feared women basketball team in Africa.
With the latest achievement, the team will be expecting a handsome reward from Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, who recently rained $100,000 cash reward on the female football team, the Super Falcons for winning 10th WAFCON title in Morocco last weekend.
After D’Tigress progressed to the final on Saturday, Tinubu had commended the team’s resilience and dominance.
He paid special tribute to Rena Wakama, the team’s head coach and the first woman to lead the side, applauding her inspiring leadership both as a former player and now as a tactician.