Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, head coach, Rena Wakama, hopes to defend Nigeria’s continental crown and lead the country to Olympic glory.
Speaking during an open training session in Abuja on Sunday, Rena Wakama emphasised that D’Tigress’ focus is to retain the AfroBasket title and build momentum toward securing a medal at future Olympic Games.
“We have a core that has been with me for a few years now,” Wakama told reporters. “But the key right now is to connect, come together and be focused. Because we know going into this tournament, everyone is coming for us. It is what it is.”
Wakama made history in 2023 when she guided Nigeria to a record fourth consecutive AfroBasket title in Rwanda, becoming the first female head coach to achieve the feat.
The triumph was followed by an inspiring quarterfinal finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As the 2025 Afrobasket is set to kick off on July 26 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the stakes are higher, and Wakama is not shying away.
“Short-term goals are to win AfroBasket. Long-term goals the eye is always on the Olympics,” she said. “Those are the tournaments that we go and play on the world stage. The long-term goal is to get on the podium. Get on the podium, get one of those medals. That’s a long-term goal.”
Beyond titles and trophies, the coach is also driven by the vision of empowering women through sport.
“Outside of sports, we want to continue to be able to empower and uplift sports and basketball in Nigeria. We need support from everybody. We need the fans,” she urged. “After these girls are gone, who’s the next generation that I’m inspiring? We need more people to support our young girls in basketball.”
On the court, Wakama remains grounded, vowing that win or lose, her team will leave everything on the hardwood.
“It’s excitement. No pressure. We’re going to give our all. Any team that I coach is going to play as hard as they can,” she said. “If we give our all and we win, great. If we give our all and we lose, great, we give our all. Maybe it wasn’t our day.”
Team captain Amy Okonkwo shared in her coach’s optimism, expressing pride in the team’s readiness for the 2025 Afrobasket.
“I think we’re looking forward to playing against great competition in other great countries. And I think we’re excited to be back together,” Okonkwo said. “We have a lot of good energy. We have a lot of new faces.”
With less than a week to go, the D’Tigress are focused on fine-tuning their chemistry.
“We’re preparing to win. We’re working hard. We’re working on our defence, we’re working on our offence, and how we can build the best chemistry as a team to go and play in AfroBasket,” Okonkwo said. “Anybody can beat anybody, and we have to go in there with high heads and good confidence, and work together and win.”
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