Afro Basketball: D’Tigress win 4th consecutive title as Wakama makes history

 

The nation’s women basketball team D’Tigress left no one in doubt that they are the team to beat in the continent today (Saturday) as they edged out rock solid Senegal to win fourth consecutive Afro Women’s Basketball Crown. The hard fought battle saw the Rena Wakama led side triumph 84-74 in the championship hosted by Rwanda.

The D’Tigress made a good start in the keenly contested encounter and won the first quarter 19-10.

Rena Wakama’s side led 12 points (43-31) going into the half time break.

The Senegalese fought back in the third quarter out-shooting Nigeria 26-19

They cut down the lead to five points (62-57). The D’Tigress were not done yet popping up the volume to seal the fourth quarter.

It is a huge plus for highly elated Rena Wakama who made history by becoming the first Female Coach to win the competition since its inception in 1966.

Recall that the Nigerian ladies on Thursday took hosts Rwanda to the cleaners in the semi-finals crusing into the final 79-48 .

As if giving thumbs up to the popular saying that you don’t change a winning team Wakama maintained the  starting five of the previous game; Amy Okonkwo, Palla Kunaiyi-Akpanah, Elizabeth Balogun, Sarah Ogoke and Blessing Ejiofor.

The game against Senegalese was a rematch of the final of the 2019 Women’s Afrobasket and the semi-final of the 2021 edition Nigeria won on both occasions.

Only Senegal, who won the biennial competition uninterruptedly from 1974 to 1981, have achieved a four-peat in the history of Women’s Afrobasket.

The three previous wins for the Nigerian team were recorded in 2017 trophy in Bamako,  Dakar Senegal, in 2019, and Cameroon in 2021.