The Nigeria Basketball Federation has released the final roster for the country’s senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, ahead of the forthcoming Women’s Afrobasket Championship set to hold in Kigali, Rwanda from July 28 to August 6.
D’Tigress would be hoping to defend the continental title for the fourth time in a row having previously won the competition in 2015, 2017, and 2019. A fourth win will see them become the second country to ever accomplish such a feat after Senegal in 1974, 1977, 1979, and 1981.
Head coach of the team Rena Wakama and the NBBF after the tryouts organized for players across the world have selected 12 players plus a standby player to represent the country in Rwanda. They include Toyosi Abiola, Tomi Taiwo, Okoro Ifunaya, Sarah Ogoke, Elizabeth Balogun, Adeyeye Adebola, Amy Okonkwo, and Pellas Akpanah.
Others include – Olawuyi Olanike Olayemi, Lauren Ebo, Blessing Ejiofor, and Murjanatu Musa Linan while Nicole Enabosi Ehizele has been placed on standby.
The team had been hit with a couple of early retirement from players who had revealed that they would not be taking part in the NBBF trials organized to select players for the competition.
D’Tigress are in Group D alongside Egypt (two-time champions) who also released their squad today and three-time Afrobasket champions, DR Congo. Nigeria’s first game of the competition would be against the Leopards.
