Nigeria’s female basketball national team, D’Tigress have received plaudits from the country’s ports minister, Sunday Akinlabi Dare, following their successful defence of their African championship title.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Dare was ecstatic in the wake of D’Tigress’ conquest of Afrobasket 2021 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where the team coached by Otis Hughley pulled off a commanding victory against Mali in the final.
Dare led the splash of accolades for the Nigerian team, after they subdued the Malians 70-59 in the final at Palais Polyvalent des Sports in Yaoundé, where they romped into an 11-point lead in the first quarter at 22-11.
The Malians fought back in the second quarter which they won 13-9 to leave scores at 31-24 in advantage of the Nigerians at half time, but the next quarter went D’Tigress’ way and, while the opponent won the last quarter, the match ended 70-59 in favour of the defending champions.
The minister said he was thrilled seeing D’Tigress hook their third consecutive continental championship title on Sunday after beating Mali by 70-59 in the final, which he described as further confirmation of Nigeria’s dominance of the sport in Africa.
Dare stated: “Clearly now Nigeria’s dominance of the sport is indisputable. This is the evidence that Nigeria’s women basketball can be ranked as a World-class programme.
“We have to sustain this momentum. This is remarkable, winning the Afrobasketball Championships for an unprecedented third time.
“I salute the team for their professional commitment and execution. They have done the nation proud and maintained the positive results we have achieved in sports in the last few weeks.”
