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The head coach of Nigeria’s female basketball national team, D’Tigress, Rena Wakama, has revealed her squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The D’Tigress will be captained by forward Amy Okonkwo, whose outstanding performances at the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2023 earned her the MVP title, and she was the main player for Nigeria at the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
Ezinne Kalu’s return will provide a significant boost to D’Tigress’ backcourt, drawing from her wealth of experience in major events such as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2018. She will assume a leadership role in the absence of team captain Sarah Ogoke.
In addition to Kalu and Okonkwo, the 12-woman D’Tigress squad for the 2024 Olympics includes Elizabeth Balogun, Promise Amukamara, Lauren Ebo, Nicole Enabosi, Murjanatu Musa, Ifunaya Okoro, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah, Blessing Ejiofor, Olaoluwatomi Taiwo, and Adebola Adeyeye.
Notable absentees from the D’Tigress squad are Adenike Olawuyi, Alimat Abiola, and Sarah Ogoke, who played significant roles in previous successes in Rwanda but did not make the final squad.
The team has been actively preparing for the Olympics, engaging in warm-up games in Germany and Serbia. They are scheduled to face Japan in a friendly match in Lille, France, today, July 24, as their ultimate test before the Paris Olympic Games.
D’Tigress’ first game at the Olympics is against Australia on July 29. Afterwards, they will face France on August 1, and then Canada on August 4.
English (US) ·