D’TIGRESS took a decisive step closer to the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup on Friday night with a shock victory over France at the qualifying tournament in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Nigerian ladies were given no chance after Thursday’s opening defeat to China, but the African champions responded with a nerve-racking, come-from-behind 67-65 win over world No.5 team France.
D’Tigress had to claw their way back into the game after accruing a 17-point deficit in the first quarter (28-11) to avenge their Beijing 2020 Olympics defeat to the Europeans.
The Nigerian side, coached by American Otis Hughley, won the low-scoring second quarter 16-10 to cut the deficit to 11 points (38-27) at half-time.
Buoyed by their second quarter display, D’Tigress capitalised on France’s uncharacteristic frequent turnovers to win the third quarter 21-14, making it a four-point game going into the final period of the nail-biting game.
They then secured an unlikely win against the favourites by taking the fourth quarter 19-13, sealing a tight victory by two points.
Victoria Macaulay led D’Tigress in scoring with a game-high 19 points and contributed four assists, while Odera Chidum added 13 points, five assists and six rebounds. Promise Amukamara and Adaora Elonu each contributed 10 points to the stunning victory.
With the win, D’Tigress need to avoid a defeat by 10 points or more against Mali on Sunday to snatch a second consecutive FIBA Women’s World Cup ticket. The global tournament is billed for Australia in December.
An ecstatic President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Musa Kida, described the win as a result of hard work and steady growth since 2017.
“We are excited about where we are and what we have been able to achieve. This is not just another result because it is a result that we are going to celebrate for a long time to come,” he said shortly after the game.
“We are seeing a team that learnt a lot from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the 2021 AfroBasket win. The growth has been steady and consistent and we are not surprised that the results have continued to bear testament to what we are trying to achieve.”
