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By JOE APU
Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, will be aiming for a morale-boosting victory when they face the Philippines in their next game at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Lyon, France.
The African champions are looking to quickly regain their rhythm after suffering a 77–60 defeat to South Korea on Thursday — the first time Nigeria’s senior women’s team has lost to the Koreans in international competition.
Ranked eighth in the world, Nigeria currently hold a 1–1 record in the tournament, having opened their campaign with a commanding win over Colombia before the setback against the Asian side.
Despite trailing narrowly 36–32 at halftime against South Korea, D’Tigress struggled to maintain momentum in the second half as the Koreans capitalised on turnovers and physical defensive play to pull away.
Head coach Rena Wakama believes a strong response in the next game will help restore the team’s confidence.“Korea is a great team. We struggled today shooting the ball and we turned it over 22 times, which is not typical of our game,” Wakama said after the defeat.
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“Mentality-wise we are fine and we are not going to overreact to the loss. There are lessons in defeats and we will take those lessons from this game, improve and be ready for our next match.”
Nigeria will take encouragement from their previous meeting with the Philippines during the 2022 qualifiers, when D’Tigress recorded a dominant 102–58 victory.
The Filipinas, currently ranked 39th in the world, have also endured a difficult start to the tournament with two defeats, giving Nigeria a strong opportunity to bounce back and rebuild momentum ahead of tougher fixtures.
Forward Victoria Macaulay continued her impressive form despite the loss to Korea, finishing with 22 points and six rebounds to lead Nigeria’s scoring.
The qualifying tournament, which is taking place across France, Turkey, Puerto Rico and China, will determine the teams that will compete at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup later this year in Berlin, Germany.
After facing the Philippines, D’Tigress will round off their campaign with challenging matches against European powerhouses France and Germany as they continue preparations for the World Cup.
