Nigeria’s women’s basketball team otherwise known as D’Tigress, arrived in Germany as reigning continental champions, carrying the memories of an extraordinary 2024 Paris Olympics campaign that changed global perceptions.
Instead, they departed with three defeats, zero victories, and a record-breaking 55-point loss that stripped away illusions and laid bare an urgent reality: D’Tigress are rebuilding.
Head coach Rena Wakama’s admission after the 111-56 defeat to France was more revealing than the scoreline itself. Rather than measuring the present group solely against the historic quarter-finalists of Paris, Wakama acknowledged that the current team is still searching for its identity.
‘A lot of people saw what we did in 2024, and the reality of where we are today is that we’re in a rebuilding process,’ Wakama said.
That rebuilding process is now the most important conversation surrounding Nigerian women’s basketball. The question is no longer simply how badly D’Tigress lost in Berlin, but what the tournament revealed about the team, what needs to change within the programme, and whether Nigeria can turn a disappointing World Cup into the starting point for another period of growth.
The warning signs appeared from the opening game. Nigeria entered Group B with expectations shaped by their recent success, but South Korea immediately exposed some of the difficulties facing the new-look side, handing D’Tigress a 99-81 defeat.
That response came close against Hungary, but ultimately fell short in a 71-67 loss that left them with little room for error heading into their final group game against France. Against one of the strongest teams in the competition, the gap became much wider. France raced to a 31-13 lead after the opening quarter before extending the advantage to 65-26 by half-time.
Nigeria struggled to contain France’s movement and perimeter shooting, while their own offensive production failed to keep pace. The third quarter further widened the gap, with France moving 95-36 ahead before completing a 111-56 victory. The result became the heaviest defeat in D’Tigress history and their largest loss at a FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria managed only 17 successful field goals from 56 attempts, while France converted 22 three-pointers. Gabby Williams led France with 25 points, while Janelle Salan added 19 and Marine Johannes finished with 17.
For D’Tigress captain Amy Okonkwo, the defeat reflected a team that never found the rhythm required to compete with France.
‘I think we just struggled to find our rhythm early and weren’t able to get the win or really stop them,’ Okonkwo said.
The result completed a winless group-stage campaign and sent Nigeria out of the tournament without advancing to the knockout stages.
The scale of the disappointment becomes clearer when placed against what D’Tigress achieved two years earlier. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Nigeria became the first African women’s basketball team to reach the Olympic quarter-finals. The achievement transformed expectations around the national team and demonstrated that an African side could compete beyond the continental level. But success also created a new standard. Every subsequent tournament would inevitably be judged against Paris.
The reality, however, is that the team in Berlin was not simply a continuation of the group that made history in France. Players change, roles evolve, opponents study previous performances, and the chemistry that makes a successful team cannot automatically be transferred from one tournament cycle to another.
Wakama’s fresh master plan
Wakama acknowledged that reality directly. ‘We can’t rely on two years ago success,’ she stated. ‘Who we are today, we’re still figuring that out, and I know we will.’
That distinction is important. The Paris achievement remains significant, but it cannot substitute for the work required to build the next generation of D’Tigress. The task is therefore not to recreate the Paris team exactly as it was, but to develop a new group capable of creating its own identity.
One of the more encouraging aspects of Nigeria’s campaign was the emergence of younger players who were given significant exposure against some of the best opposition in the world. Grace Efosa-Aguebor produced 15 points in roughly 20 minutes against France, while Maryam Dauda and Elizabeth Balogun also gained valuable experience, with Balogun contributing 11 points.
Wakama specifically identified the young players as one of the positives to emerge from the difficult campaign. ‘I am most proud of our fight,’ she said. ‘Grace Efosa played about 20 minutes and gave us 15 points. Maryam, these are names you guys will hear in the future. I threw my young ones in the fire and they responded for me, so I am super proud of them.’
Their performances provide an important starting point. The challenge now is ensuring that the exposure they received in Berlin becomes part of a sustained development pathway rather than a one-off experience. Young players need consistent opportunities to train alongside established internationals, compete at a high level, and gradually take on greater responsibility so they do not have to wait for a major tournament to discover the demands of elite international basketball.
Former D’Tigers captain and Nigeria Basketball Federation board member Olumide Oyedeji believes the World Cup result should trigger an immediate review of the national team programme. For Oyedeji, the issue extends beyond the result against France and requires a broader examination of how Nigeria prepares its teams for major international competitions.
‘The early exit is a wake-up call. It is a major step backward for the team, and urgent attention needs to be paid to the situation because the rest of Africa is also catching up with us,’ he said.
His comments highlight another reality confronting D’Tigress. Nigeria’s dominance in African women’s basketball can no longer be viewed as sufficient evidence of global competitiveness. Other African nations are improving their structures, developing players, and closing the competitive gap. Oyedeji’s call for urgent action points towards the need for a comprehensive assessment of player development, preparation, competition exposure, and the administrative structures supporting the national team.
D’Tigress’ recent record in Africa remains extraordinary. Nigeria have won the Women’s AfroBasket five consecutive times and seven times overall. Their latest triumph came in 2025 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where they defeated Mali 78-64 in the final. That victory extended Nigeria’s unbeaten run in the competition to 29 consecutive games and made D’Tigress the first team in Women’s AfroBasket history to win five successive titles.
Those achievements demonstrate the strength of Nigerian women’s basketball on the continent, but Berlin provided a different measure. The demands of a World Cup are considerably broader. Teams face deeper benches, greater tactical variety, stronger perimeter shooting, and a level of preparation that requires months of planning. For Nigeria to convert continental supremacy into sustained global competitiveness, success in Africa must become one stage of a wider development model. The aim should not be to choose between winning in Africa and competing globally, but to use continental success as a platform for achieving global competitiveness.
PBAT’s cash booster
While the Berlin campaign exposed areas requiring urgent attention, developments away from the court have provided a positive indication of institutional backing. Players and officials of D’Tigress have now received the financial rewards promised by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for their 2025 Women’s AfroBasket triumph. The payment represents the completion of presidential rewards following efforts by National Sports Commission chairman Shehu Dikko and Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele to conclude arrangements. Within three days of the process being concluded, players and officials of both D’Tigress and the Super Falcons received their funds.
For D’Tigress, the timing gives the development added significance. Returning from a tournament that exposed the gap between continental dominance and global standing, visible institutional backing provides confidence that the programme remains valued.
D’Tigress captain Amy Okonkwo welcomed the payment and expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for fulfilling the promises made to the team following their AfroBasket triumph. Speaking on behalf of the players, Okonkwo described the support as an indication of a changing approach to athlete welfare in Nigeria.
‘On behalf of the entire D’Tigress team, I want to specially thank our dear President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for this show of love and support,’ Okonkwo said. ‘We are truly grateful for everything he has done to ensure that we receive all that he promised us after winning the Afrobasket last year. This is an unprecedented gesture from Mr. President. We have received the houses he promised us, the national honours he bestowed on us, and now we have all received the financial rewards promised to us in our various accounts.’
Okonkwo also acknowledged the broader sports administration for facilitating the process. ‘We are more than grateful to Mr. President, the First Lady, and the leadership of the National Sports Commission, led by the Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, and the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade,’ she added. ‘We are also very grateful to the Nigeria Basketball Federation and its President, Engr. Musa Kida. This has shown us that Nigerian sports is taking a major positive shift in administration and that we truly have a sports-loving President.’
The presidential rewards are significant, but their greatest value must extend beyond financial benefits. For a team rebuilding after a difficult World Cup, incentives contribute to morale and reinforce the connection between achievement and recognition. However, financial rewards should be viewed as only one component of a wider system. Nigeria needs a structure that allows players to arrive at national-team camps properly prepared, integrates younger talents earlier, creates opportunities to play quality opposition, and maintains tactical continuity between major competitions. The Berlin experience demonstrated how difficult it can be to build tactical connections when a team is forced to find its identity during a major tournament itself.
Los Angeles 2028 countdown
The next major benchmark is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. That gives Nigerian basketball a defined target and time to address the lessons from Berlin. The two-year period leading to Los Angeles should become a structured development cycle. The focus must include identifying the core of the next D’Tigress team, integrating younger talents like Efosa-Aguebor, Dauda, and Balogun, and effectively bringing in players competing across the WNBA and European leagues. The objective must be continuity rather than constant reinvention.
The 2026 World Cup should not be remembered solely for the 111-56 defeat to France. That scoreline will remain part of D’Tigress’ history, but its greater value lies in what it revealed regarding preparation, cohesion, and continuity. The path forward is cleared by three key elements: an honest admission from Coach Wakama that the team is rebuilding, a call for institutional action from NBBF board member Olumide Oyedeji, and continued government support acknowledged by captain Amy Okonkwo.
Paris proved that D’Tigress can break barriers. The 2025 AfroBasket triumph proved that they remain the dominant force in African women’s basketball. Berlin provided the warning of what happens when the next stage of global development is incomplete. If the lessons from the World Cup lead to structured technical planning, earlier player integration, and quality preparation, the Berlin campaign could ultimately become a crucial turning point.
The future of D’Tigress does not have to be defined by what went wrong in Berlin; it will be defined by what Nigeria chooses to do next.