D’Tigress confident despite 2017 Afrobasket tough draw
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Nigeria’s senior women national basketball team, the D’Tigress have been drawn against perennial rivals, Senegal, Mozambique, Egypt and Guinea in Group B of the 2017 FIBA Women’s Afro basketball championship in Mali.
The FIBA Women’s AfroBasket is the top women’s basketball tournament in Africa which is staged every two years and features the top 12 national teams on the continent and the 25th edition of the event will take place in Bamako, Mali August 17 - 28.
According to the draws conducted recently, the four teams in Group B would be joined later by a team that will qualify from FIBA Africa Zone 4.
Without any doubt, Group B has since been tagged the Group of Death because apart from housing some of the powerhouses in African women basketball, it is where reigning African champions, Senegal will begin their title defence.
The Senegalese have dominated the tournament having won 12 out of the 24 editions that have been staged. They started their dominance in 1974 when the tournament was staged in Tunisia. Undoubtedly, they are going to be D’Tigeress major obstacle in Mali.
It is also interesting to note that in 2015 in Cameroon where Senegal beat the host to emerge champions for the 12th time, they were defeated convincingly by their arch-rivals D’Tigeress in one of their group matches. The Nigerian girls overpowered Senegal 75-64.
Against this background, a re-match between the two giants in Mali will surely be full of exciting moments. While the ladies from Senegal would be out to take back their pound of flesh, the Nigerian ladies would fight to confirm their supremacy.
Furthermore, Mali 2017 offers the D’Tigress the opportunity to win their third African title having won it back to back in 2003 and 2005 when Nigeria hosted the continental championship.
In 2015 the D’Tigeress were highly favoured to win and qualify for Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil but they ended in third place after they were beaten in semi-finals by the host nation, Cameroon.
They however managed to beat Angola in the third place match to qualify for the 2016 FIBA Women’s Olympics Qualifying tournament in Nantes, in France. Unfortunately, the D’Tigeress were eliminated on technical grounds so failed to qualify for their second Olympics games having featured in the 2012 London Olympics.
So there will be so much to play for and the D’Tigress will be up against some of the best teams on the continent to qualify for the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.
Having dominated FIBA Africa Zone 3 tournaments, a lot is being expected from the D’Tigress who parade some experienced and quality players like Adaora Nnenna Elonu, Sarah Ogoke and Chioma Priscilla Udeaja.
Therefore, despite the threat posed by Senegal, Cameroon, Egypt and Angola who also won the tournament back to back in 2001 and 2003, D’Tigress are brimming with confidence that they will do Nigeria proud in Mali.
In a chat with SHOT!, the Chief Coach of the Nigerian girls, Scot Nnaji said they are used to playing against their Group B opponents so there is no cause for alarm.
Although he said the team is not worried by the task of winning their third title, he said there is need for early and adequate preparations for the tournament.
He said Nigeria’s preparation will commence only after the forth coming sports federations election as he said it is the responsibility of the board of the NBBF to prepare the team for the tournament.
Nnaji also said he is expecting a hitchfree election into the board because whatever happens at the election will either impact positively or negatively on the team he is putting together for the tournament in Mali.
“Well we have seen the draws. We have been following up on the players but the problem is the coming elections into the NBBF board. We hope to put the team together after the problems of the elections.
“They are the same people we have been playing against in most of the African Championships. So we are not expecting anything completely different from what we have known.
“We are going to Mali to do our best knowing full well that a title is at stake and an appearance at the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup,” he stated.
Sharing in the optimism of their coach, some members of the D’Tigress who spoke to FIBA.com also expressed confidence that they won’t disappoint their teeming fans when the tournament dunks off in Bamako.
Chioma Priscilla Udeaja is already foreseeing Nigeria emerging top at the end of a 12-team battle in Bamako, Mali.
“Senegal, Angola, Cameroon, Egypt are made up of female players like us and the difference only shows when the game is played.
““Though Nigeria have qualified automatically for the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2017, my focus is to see a Nigerian team that would go beyond the performance in Cameroon. We have quality players that can do the job and lift the trophy for the third time,” the 33-yearold told FIBA.com.
On her part, Deborah Nwakamma, who played a part in the qualifiers for Nigeria in the build-up to 2015 All Africa Games in Congo but did not make final cut while looking at Nigeria’s chances of reclaiming the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2017 crown in Mali, expressed confidence that Nigeria have the potentials to emerge champions.
“Nigeria has quality players at home and abroad who can win the championship. All they need is adequate training and international friendly games that would help the players understand themselves well enough to make the difference in Mali,” she explained.
Well we have seen the draws. We have been following up on the players but the problem is the coming elections into the NBBF board