Nigeria forward Amy
Okonkwo is excited to know
that D’Tigress will be up
against Senegal, Team USA
and Belgium in Tenerife next
February at the FIBA Wom- en’s Olympics Qualifying
Tournament (WOQT).
She remains unshaken by
the opposition noting that Ni- geria will take it one game at a
time when the race for a ticket
to the 2024 Paris Olympics
begins.
“My immediate reaction
was I thought it is going to be
a lot of fun. It will be tough
but good for us as a team. You
should expect us to fight and
win as many games as we
can. We are a young group.
We have a lot to give and I ex- pect to see that on the court,”
Okonkwo admitted to FIBA.
basketball.
The reigning FIBA Wom- en’s AfroBasket Most Valuable
Player believes Nigeria, as Af- rican champions, have the tal- ent to prosecute the Qualifiers
as she looks forward to being
at her second Olympic Games
having had her first experience
at the Tokyo 2020.
Okonkwo, who last played
for French side Saint-Amand
Hainaut Basket, notes further
that: “This would possibly be
my second Olympics. It means
everything to me to wear Nige- ria across my chest. I truly love
this team and I’ll do everything I can within my power to help
lead us back there.”
Reflecting on Nigeria’s
WOQT opposition, Okonkwo
admits she expects them to
come out strong. “This doesn’t
bother me. I approach every
game the same and I love the
challenge. I’m looking forward
to the fun atmosphere in Bel- gium. We always respect our
opponents. They are a very
good team and I expect them
to come with their best too.”
Regarding her teammates,
she says she expects them to
come out ready for action. “I
call for them to bring the same
energy we brought to Afrobas- ket and to dig deeper and bring
even more.”
Okonkwo played a huge
role in helping Nigeria clinch
the 2023 FIBA Women’s Af- roBasket (the country’s fourth
in a row) to emerge MVP and
also lead the All-Tournament
Team.
Throughout Nigeria’s un- beaten run (5-0) in the Rwan- dan capital of Kigali, Okonk- wo emerged as the heart -and
soul of the Nigeria team, av- eraging a team-high of 17.2
points while contributing 8.2
rebounds per game and she is
not likely to slow down soon.
The 1.88m (6ft 2in) forward
does not want to concern her- self with the status of the op- ponents, but wants to help the
team return to the Olympics.