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D’Tigress WNBA Tour Long-term Investment Says Ugo Udezue
The Chairman of the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Ugo Udezue, has made a review of the D’Tigress WNBA Tour and described it as a long-term investment for the team.
The Nigerian women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, will be rounding off their playing tour of the USA with the game against WNBA team, Portland Fire, on May 3 in Portland. This match follows the first two against the LA Sparks on April 25th, which ended 89-63 for the Sparks, and the April 27th match played against the Minnesota Lynx, which the Nigerian ladies lost 88-79.
The NBBF presented a team of 21 players, with just about seven of them from the teams that won the last Afrobasket and the World Cup qualifiers in France last February, and this, Udezue explains, was very deliberate.
He said, “My assessment of D’Tigress’ WNBA Tour. The tour is a perfect blend of confidence, hope, and long-term vision for our team. What we are witnessing is not just competition – it is the intentional building of the future. “The integration of youth into this group is exactly the kind of injection needed to sustain excellence and elevate our programme for years to come. This is how great teams evolve by balancing experience with emerging talent in real, competitive environments.”
The AFA Sports CEO insists that the Federation was looking largely at the future while arranging the tour.
He added, “While some may be focused on immediate results, we are looking beyond the scoreboard. This tour is about growth, exposure, and identifying the next generation of leaders for Nigerian basketball.
“And from what I’ve seen, the future is not just promising, it is exciting.”
D’Tigress have not lost a game to any African team since the summer of 2015, and they are preparing for the 2026 FIBA World Cup that will be held in Germany in September.
Coach Rena Wakama and the NBBF have to work out a very good transition programme for new young players into the squad, with a high number of the current team over 30 years. Sarah Ogoke, a consistent guard with the team over the last 13 years, retired from the team in February. The USA tour had largely players from the collegiate system lining up for D’Tigress.
