Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress’ coach,Rena Wakama has expressed readiness to guide the team in retaining the AfroBasket title at the 2025 edition in Côte d’Ivoire.
Wakama, who led D’Tigress to make history as the first African team, men and women, to reach the Quarterfinals of Olympic Basketball, revealed this during a media chat via ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) Space organised by the Nigeria Basketball Federation’s (NBBF) media team on Friday, August 9.
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She added that her plan for the team after their.Quarter-final exit at the Olympics is to allow the players ample time to rest and prepare for their clubs’ assignments.
“The plan has started for me. I gave the players time to rest for their club’s engagement. I have started thinking about how we can be better at the tournament in Afrobasket in Côte d’Ivoire,” Wakama said.
She reflected on the team’s performance at the Olympics, boasting of the outstanding victories against Australia and Canada and also reaching the Quarterfinals. She described it as a great accomplishment.
“I am happy being together with the girls. They put me in a position to be successful. We have made history together,” she added.
She emphasised that her job is targeted towards building a solid basketball team for Nigeria, saying she has a retinue of coaches who help her identify talents for the country.
She also hinted at her dream of seeing Nigerians of Nigerian descent playing in the WNBA to represent the country, saying her service as the country’s women’s basketball coach exemplifies her contribution to developing the sport.
“Hopefully Nigerians abroad can come and serve; that will be a great thing. We also need to create an atmosphere for people to come and serve,” Wakama stated.
The qualifiers for the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket will take place over three qualifying windows from July 2024 to February 2025.
Women’s Afrobasket 2023 Champions, Nigeria; first runners-up, Senegal, as well as semifinalists, Mali and Rwanda have secured automatic tickets to the next edition of the biennial continental championship.
By Dotun Omisakin
5 Comments
I am often critical of our administrators, not because I like quarrel, but because na condition make crayfish bend. Sotey, crayfish done adopt kung-fu pose.
But I will not fail to give praise when it is due.
Looks like inside the NBBF, we still have some decent officials. Well done to them.
Whoever made the decision to hire Rena Wakama, that person or persons did well. This was a good, solid decision that Nigeria is benefiting from now, and will benefit from into the next decade.
Is she being paid her salary in a timely manner? Are the players’ bonuses being paid? Or are the funds poised to line private pockets?
I just hope this young lady will receive the support she needs.
It was a bold decision too, given the young age of the coach.
The people that hired her obviously did their due diligence, and realized that she may be young, but she is capable.
Once again, kudos to them. This is the kind of competent, forward thinking action we need from our officials.
I guess they have a knack for selecting quality coaches for the women national basketball team. I think we have won the Afrobasket championship four consecutive times and Wakama was only in charge of the fourth one last year. Dare almost sabotaged them too but kudos to nbbf who didn’t fret when the former coach Otis Hughley (now Senegal women coach) resigned.
Ironically, I doubt if the sports ministry take care of the federation as they do to misfiring NFF gigolos and do nothing’s.
If it was our friends at NFF ONIGBESE, they will be looking for ex international basketball players to install as coach, so they can share salary with them.
“…Hopefully Nigerians abroad can come and serve; that will be a great thing. We also need to create an atmosphere for people to come and serve,” Wakama stated.
Now that’s deep. Very very deep…!!!