President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated female Basket Ball team, D’Tigress, for qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
D’Tigress booked a ticket to the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo despite losing to host-Serbia in their second Group.
In a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari commended the sportsmanship and resilience of the team all through the qualifying stages and urged the team to remain focused, determined and energised for a good outing at the tournament.
The president said as the current African champions, the D’Tigress already has the talents to make global impact in the sport, assuring that the Federal Government would ensure proper preparation and mobilisation for the team.
The President also commended team officials and the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) for the discipline and motivation of the D’Tigress.
Also, the management of Zenith Bank, yesterday, showered praises on D’Tigress, for winning a ticket to the 2020 Olympics Games.
The Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, said the outfit was particularly elated because the women basketball team has displayed so much consistency in recent time.
He said: “This team won the last two Women AfroBasket and they played in the quarterfinals of the World Cup and now won the Tokyo 2020 ticket. We are so happy about this progress in the team which also shows that the girls are gradually joining the best teams in the world stage.
“It is a thing of joy that our annual Zenith league is yielding dividends for the country. We are really happy and we expect D’Tigress to continue to make more progress in the basketball world.”
The World Basketball governing body, FIBA, in its congratulatory message to the Nigeria women basketball team said: “With US winning against Mozambique, Nigeria are now qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!! Congratulations.”