The Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress lost by 26 points with the final score at 51-77 against Raptors Basketball academy, in a practice game on Wednesday in preparation for the Afrobasket 2017 tournament.
D’Tigress are preparing for the AfroBasket 2017 Championship which tips off on August 18 in the West African nation of Mali.
The AfroBasket 2017 tem Led by Assistant Coach, Sam Ahmedu the starters on Wednesday an all foreign-based seemed to bear a semblance of what the final 12-player rooster would like.
Six players were initially selected from the Florida camp and Ahmedu awaits the arrival of a seventh in addition to five home-based players already selected, per @TonyBekederemo.
Head Coach Sam Vincent is also yet to arrive the Lagos camp, where he’d be expected to stamp the seal on the team rooster.
The team was scheduled to play three practice games before their August 16 departure date for ahead of their first game against Mozambique in Bamako.
Nigeria are in Group B alongside DR Congo, Egypt, Guinea and Mozambique.
D’Tigress won back to back titles in 2003 and 2005, but at the last edition in Cameroon settled for Bronze.
Speaking after the game, the team’s assistant coach, Peter Ahmedu who stood in for the head coach, Sam Vincent expressed delight in the team . Ahmedu said that the team will get better after one or two more friendlies before jetting out to Bamako for the Afrobasket competition
“With what I have seen so far, I am very impressed because this is the first game we are playing together since the arrival of the foreign players from the United States of America.
“Managing over 20 girls on the bench was another problem. To look at them and pass instruction was another problem.”
He promised to go back to the drawing board, make the necessary corrections with the Technical crew headed by Sam Vincent who arrived Lagos on Wednesday.
On the other side, Ibeziako of Raptors described playing against the national team as a big opportunity, days before representing the country at Africa’s largest women’s basketball fiesta.
Despite losing, Ibeziako was full of praise for the team.
“Women playing against men is a tough game. But with what I have seen, they are tough and will represent Nigeria very well.”
An impressed Oguande expressed optimism that in the next couple of days, the team should be ready to launch a title challenge in Mali.
“Initially, they were jittery but as the game went on, they got better and that is truly the case in a team sport. The more games you play, the more you get better and I am hoping by the time we play the next game, we will be doing better than this.
