Basketball
Victorious D’Tigress due in Abuja this Sunday
BY MAXWELL KUMOYE
Members of the all conquering and history making Nigeria senior female national basketball team, D’Tigress are due in Abuja from Kigali, the Rwandan capital this Sunday
On arrival the history makers are expected to be received by top officials of the federal ministry of sports and basketball stakeholders to a rousing reception.
On Saturday, Nigeria become the first team to win four FIBA Women’s AfroBasket titles in a row over the last four decades thanks to an 84-74 win over Senegal in Kigali, Rwanda.
Before Nigeria achieved this remarkable feat, Senegal was the last team to win four African titles in the 1970s stone age.
The victory is D’Tigresses’ sixth continental title, 20 years after they won their very first African diadem in 2003 in Maputo, Mozambique.
D’Tigress under the stewardship of coach Rena Wakama reduced the effectiveness Senegal’s playmaker Cierra Dillard and used their shooting strength to dominate and navigate their way through the final of Women’s AfroBasket.
Nigeria took off on a solid foundation and dominated the first and second quarters with a double figure margin of 12, 43-31. However, Senegal, the 11 time Champions closed the gap in the third quarter 62-57.
The African champions regained control of the game, and closed it out superbly to tell and show the world that they rule women’s basketball in Africa.
It was an all round master class show by D’Tigress as Ifunaya Okoro, hit 16 points, Elizabeth Balogun made 15 points, Sarah Ogoke added 13 points, and Munjanatu Musa hit a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds to contribute to the team’s victory.
Afrobasket Most Valuable Player, Amy Okonkwo contributed 14 points in sinking the hospitable Lionesses.
Coach Rena Wakama was critized and some at first doubted her ability to lead D’Tigress to defend their African title are muted now as she becomes the first female head coach to win a Women’s AfroBasket title.
After helping the team to rewrite the history of the slamming and dunking game in the continent, Amy Okonkwo, praised the role Coach Rena Wakama played in making it happen.
“We have a coach that believes in us. It has us fighting till the end, even in adversity. So we knew we had our destiny in our hands. Even when Senegal came back, we knew we had to step up, to keep together and we made it happen.”
On being named as the 2023 FIBA Women Afrobasket Championship MVP, Okonkwo has this to say: “I was playing in Mexico this summer, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to come and lead. And I had the opportunity to lead the team. I told myself that I was not coming to Kigali to lose anything. And being MVP is a huge honour.”
D’Tigress finished the championship without dropping a game, it was five over five and 24 games unbeaten run dating back to 2015 in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
A very elated Wakama said the quarter final clash against Mozambique was the turning point of her Championship.
“Against Mozambique, we were down by 10 or 12 points. I looked into their eyes, and they told me: “Coach, we’re not going to lose this game. And they came back to win. That was the defining moment for me.”
Rena Wakama also revealed that, she was almost quitting the game of basketball but asked the sovreingn Lord of the universe if she should hold on for awhile. “It has been a long year for me. I asked God for a sign, and this trophy was the biggest of them all.”
Meanwhile, the President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Musa Ahmadu Kida has congratulated the team for making the country proud.
Kida said this victory is extra sweet because it was made in Nigeria all round, trained in Nigeria, coached by a Nigerian, dressed by a Nigerian apparel brand.
“The success of the D’Tigress has again proved that the NBBF is ready, willing and will continue to tick the right boxes for the game of basketball to grow and flourish in the country.”
He assured the team of more support and he also thank the Sports Ministry for supporting the team.
Another member of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Abba Abdulqadri Kaka, said that the the victory is well deserved.
“We shall continue to do our very best as a Federation and with the support of the Federal Government and well meaning stakeholders we will lift the game in all aspect.” The chairman of the NBBF Division 2 League Management Committee, stated.
Basketball
Musa Kida moves from the basketball boardroom to NNPC Towers

Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.
The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.
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Basketball
NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman

The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.
The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.
” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.
” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.
” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.
” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.
The DG added that he does not doubt that Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.
” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.
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Basketball
FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers

The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.
A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.
Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.
FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.
Here is FIBA’s analysis: The return of the Tokyo Olympian has been a blessing for Abdulrahman Mohammed’s Nigeria.
For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.
The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.
Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and Nisre Zouzoua (Cote d’Ivoire)
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