The Nigerian female basketball team popularly known as D’Tigress secured qualification for the 2020 Olympics set to take place in Tokyo, Japan later this year. This would be the second time D’Tigress would qualify for the Olympics. Their previous appearance was back in 2004 where they finished 11th out of the 12 competing teams.
Their qualification was confirmed thanks to the loss Mozambique suffered against the USA on Saturday 8th February 2020. The Otis Hughley led side will look forward to ending the successful qualification campaign with a win against the USA team who are the reigning Olympic Champions.
D’Tigress qualifying for the Olympics has enabled the Nigerian Basketball Federation to set another desirable record of being the only Federation in Nigeria to have two teams at the Olympics. D’Tigers secured their spot at the 2020 Olympics last year September after defeating China in their final classification game of the FIBA basketball world cup.
Over the years, D’Tigress have established their presence as the best female basketball team in Africa. They are the current African Champions. They have won the AfroBasketball Women Championship 4 times and recorded third-place finishes twice. They were All Africa Games Champions in 2003, recording a second-place finish twice and a third-place finish 4 times.
Their highest finish in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup was in 2018 when they got to the quarter-finals. The progress of D’Tigress over the years has become evident over the years especially since the reign of head coach Otis Hughley began in 2018.
Despite the success of D’Tigress, Nigerians complain about the fact that members of the team are not based in Nigeria. The majority have dual citizenships with foreign countries and also ply their trade in the USA or Europe. Only one local-based player is a part of the D’Tigress team thanks to the Zenith Bank Women Basketball League that took place in 2018.
Sadly, the state of competitive basketball is almost non-existent and below world standard. Therefore, reliance on foreign-based players is inevitable. Also, upcoming basketballers in Nigeria are forced to find a breakthrough into the United States or any European Country. The Nigerian Basketball Federation definitely needs to improve the state of Basketball in the country.
Nevertheless, all efforts are being geared towards the participation of D’Tigers and D’Tigress at the forthcoming summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. The Nigerian Basketball Federation President, Musa Kida, credited the Olympic qualification to support from President Buhari, Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare as well as the fans.
Hopefully, the support continues in full force when the 2020 Olympics are set to start this summer in Tokyo, Japan.