D’Tigress Open 2025 Afrobasket Cup Defence in Flying Start

 Duro Ikhazuagbe

Nigeria’s D’Tigress kicked off their FIFA Africa Afrobasket defence in flying start yesterday, handing out a massive 92-45 defeat to their Rwanda counterparts at the championship which kicked off yesterday in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Surprisingly, it was Rwanda that struck first, but the Paris 2024 Olympic Games quarterfinalists soon took control and ended the first quarter 17-8

However, the second quarter saw the Rwandese narrowing Nigeria’s scoring to 28-17.

 But after returning from the second quarter break at 45-25, D’Tigress raced to a 26 points advantage to put the East Africans in where they belong in the continental basketball showpiece.

D’Tigress then blew out Rwanda, winning the third quarter with 13 points margin at 21-8.

Kudos must however go to Victoria Macaulay for registering an efficiency of 20, and 13 points, 3 rebounds plus 5 assists.  She was complimented by Elizabeth Balogun in  a game leading 18 points, all of which Balogun made  from within the paint.

D’Tigress made it 5 players, in double figures, with Murjanatu Musa on 12, Ifunaya Okoro on 11 and Amy Okonkwo on 10. 

Nigeria’s bench marshaled by Rena Wakama proved crucial in D’Tigress outscoring Rwanda’s 37-13, but what hurt  the East Africans most was  some of their continued turnovers, which resulted in 25 Nigeria points.

Destiney Promise Philoxy was the best Rwandan playmaker at the 3,500 capacity Palais des Sport de Treichville, with 11 points and a similar number in efficiency. 

 Keisha Hampton was the only other Rwandan to score in double digits, 10 points. Pallas Kunaiyi Akpanah and Bella Murekatete shared the glory in the rebound contest, claiming 9 each.

From a distance, the East African got no better than 3 successes from 21 three point attempts. While D’Tigress were twice  better, from the same distance in 15 attempts.

Speaking after the game, Coach Wakama expressed satisfaction with the result, emphasizing that Nigeria boasts symmetry and counterbalance.

“As a coach I’m extremely pleased about our performance today. There is strength in numbers. I had five in double figures, I had 37 bench points . So at any point in time anybody can get high. And I’m glad we have the ability to have balanced scoring and balance production from the bench as well.”

Wakama explained that Nigeria must effectively manage some titting problems to be able to retain their title.

The win is the Tigress’ 25th in a row in the tournament, dating back to October 2015.