Reigning African Champions Nigeria’s DTigress will open her campaign at the FIBA Women’s World cup Qualifying Tournament against Colombia at the Villeurbanne Sports Arena in Lyon on Wednesday.
The Nigerian girls have continued to build a high reputation as a major force in World basketball and the game against the Colombians is seen by the girls as a perfect way to build a good momentum ahead of the World Cup.
Coach Rena Wakama’s team are highly focused to make the best out of the qualifying tournament in Lyon despite having already qualified for the main event- the World cup in Berlin, Germany in September, as African Champions.
The Nigerian girls who have a reputation of getting better with every game in competitions are determined not to underrate their relatively unknown South American opponents who themselves are eager to make it to their second ever Women’s World cup in Germany later this year.
The result of today’s matchup in Lyon will definitely have a special historic outcome as both countries are meeting for the first time in the history of women’s basketball.
Colombia have been showing impressive signs in recent years when it comes to women’s basketball in the South American region and they became a top 20 country in the latest FIBA ranking after a jump of 11 spots into 19th place in the last World rankings.
Two of Nigeria’s top stars, Ezinne Kalu and Amy Okonkwo have been named amongst the top ten players to watch out for in the tournament as D’Tigress hopes to continue their unbeaten run from the 2025 FIBA Afrobasket in Cote d’Ivoire.
