D’Tigress battle France for quarterfinal ticket
01 August 2024 |
2:04 am
The D’Tigress are on the move again. The women’s national basketball team, who pulled off the biggest upset yet at the ongoing Olympic Games by beating world number three-ranked Australia in their opening Group B game, will do battle against seventh-ranked France, today.
The D’Tigress are on the move again. The women’s national basketball team, who pulled off the biggest upset yet at the ongoing Olympic Games by beating world number three-ranked Australia in their opening Group B game, will do battle against seventh-ranked France, today.
Nigeria, ranked 12th in the world, has suddenly become the neutrals’ candidate to continue in their giant-killing feat against France. In the game against Australia, D’Tigress relied so much on Ezinne Kalu’s shooting ability and resilient defence to control the match.
Today, all the elements must also align to help the girls get closer to becoming Africa’s first team to earn a quarterfinal ticket at the Olympics. Their opponents, France, relied on a tight defensive play to beat Canada in their opening match and will likely depend on that pattern against the D’Tigress.
The disruptive qualities of France lie in their awesome defence; their ball denial has been elite and they are athletic, aggressive, and deep. Nigeria, the only African team in the women’s tournament, did the continent proud with that stunning double-digit victory against Australia. They not only beat the Opals, but they did so in real style and with authority. Something which shows that maybe they have more in them to push on.
The foundation of D’Tigress’ success and their first win at the event in 20 years was some stellar defense. It was rugged at times, but it did the job and completely knocked Australia out of their offensive stride.
This is Nigeria’s third meeting with France in five years. France defeated Nigeria 84-62 at the FIBA World Cup in Spain in 2018 and also got the better of Nigeria (87-62) at the last Olympics in Japan. But the D’Tigress defeated the hosts in their last meeting in 2022, a World Cup qualifying tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, which Nigeria won 67-65.
Speaking on the game against France, Amy Okonkwo, who scored 13 points in the win against Australia, said: “We are focused on what we can do on the field, execute our game plan and continue to take it all in stride, one day at a time.”
Ezinne Kalu, who pulled out of the team when the government prevented them from participating in the 2022 World Cup, said the past will have no bearing on D’Tigress’ performance in France.
“Sometimes you have a fight with your brother, your sister, and the next day you makeup and you’re friends again,” Kalu, who scored 19 points against Australia, said: “That’s all we’ve done in the game against Australia. We’ve fought and we’ve tried to stay together as a team.
“No one cares about what we are going through off the field. They just see what we do on the field.” Looking forward to a tough tie with France, Coach Rena Wakama said: “We can do anything we want. I don’t think anyone believed we could do it, except for the 20 people in my dressing room.”
A win in this game will earn the D’Tigress a quarterfinal ticket, while a loss means the team must win their last game against Canada on August 4.
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