September 28, (THEWILL) – Three-time African basketball champions D’Tigresses were celebrated upon their return to the country after their overwhelming domination at the AfroBasket Championship in Cotonou.
The team won the continental competition without losing a game, an unbeaten streak stretching back to 2015.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, described the victory as a “befitting” Independence Day gift to the country.
As THEWILL reported, D’Tigress defeated Mali 70-59 on Sunday to win the African Championship for the third time in a row, reaffirming their status as the African Queens of the court.
The Sports Minister appreciated and congratulated the team, as well as the entire Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) led by Engineer Musa Kida, during an elaborate reception held inside the VIP Lounge of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Monday.
Speaking at the occasion, Dare enthused: “I want to congratulate them for winning the Afrobasketball trophy and that is gold, you can see the Golden Cup here for the third consecutive time.
“They have shown a rare dominance. I can say it’s now indisputable. We have seen how they are also blending the home-based players with the foreign players. That is the DNA of our Sports as a country whether it is basketball or football, that blend always works for us.
“I want to thank each and every player, those that went to the Olympics, those that went to Senegal, and those that went to Cameroon that entire team has always done this country proud and I know that they have more victories ahead of them.
“I also thank them for putting Nigeria on the global map of basketball, the same goes to D’Tigers. I can now say that Nigeria is truly a basketball nation.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
