Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, are on the brink of history as they head into the final of the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Championship.

After a hard-fought 75–68 win over Senegal in the semi-final, the defending champions will face Mali at 7 pm WAT on Sunday at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. A win would secure their fifth consecutive title and seventh overall, cementing their dominance in African women’s basketball.

But beyond the quest for another trophy, a different conversation is buzzing among fans and players — will D’Tigress receive the same presidential reward recently given to the Super Falcons after their WAFCON 2025 triumph in Morocco?

The Falcons were celebrated with $100,000 (about ₦150 million) each, ₦50,000 for the technical crew, national honours of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), and three-bedroom apartments under the Renewed Hope Housing Scheme.

The gesture sparked mixed reactions nationwide, with some praising it as overdue recognition for women in sports, while others questioned the timing given Nigeria’s current economic challenges.

D’Tigress themselves have fuelled the speculation. In a playful post on their official X account, the team shared a dancing meme with the caption: “One more to go @afrobasketwomen Practicing $100k dance for @officialABAT.”

Their final opponent, Mali, will be aiming for only their second AfroBasket title and first in nearly 20 years