D’TIGRESS have qualified for the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after defeating Mali at the qualifying tournament in Belgrade, Serbia on Sunday.
After claiming a stunning upset victory over France on Saturday, the Nigerian ladies needed to avoid defeat to their fellow Africans on Sunday to secure a place in their second straight World Cup scheduled for Sydney, Australia.
Although Mali, who also lost to D’Tigress in the Women’s AfroBasket final in 2021, staged a near-miraculous recovery in the fourth quarter, the African champions held on to win 73-69.
D’Tigers were coasting at the end of the third quarter with a 21-point lead, 64-43, but slipped up badly in the final quarter and the Malians cut the advantage to within one point with seconds left.
Mali won the first quarter 22-20 and the fourth quarter 25-9, but the Nigerians crucially took the middle quarters 22-13 and 22-9 to build a massive lead that eventually led to victory.
D’Tigress will fly the flag for Africa at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney after they bagged the last available spot on offer in the final day of the qualifying tournament in Belgrade.
“I think fatigue set in and only having one point guard made it tough against a team in survival mode,” D’Tigress head coach Otis Hughley Jr. told the FIBA website moments after the game.
“But seriously, hats off to Mali and their undying effort. Credit to their coach who did such an amazing job and Mali almost flipped the script. But our girls took the punch and we’re off to Sydney – we’re just happy about that.”
Amy Okonkwo led D’Tigress in scoring with 14 points, Promise Amukamara had 10 points and 8 assists.
“This tournament was very special for us. We battled through a lot of adversity. I had to step up and take on the point guard and leader role. I am not very vocal, so that was a challenge for me,” Amukamara said.
“I think this tournament was the best one for us, because we had to put absolutely everything together with no training camp or preparation. We really believed in ourselves.
“Now we just have to get back healthy and the sky is the limit. We have already shocked a lot of the world. We won’t be just turning up (in Sydney), we will have a different mindset and will be reaching for the Quarter-Finals.”
D’Tigress join host nation Australia, Serbia, France, China, and Korea, who have all secured passage to the global tournament from Belgrade.
