₦airaland Forum

PDPGuy:
Great to see White, Izoje, Okananwa, Nwaedozi on the roster!

Yes my man! Just Great!

'Was about asking about Murjanatu's absence from the roster but I see now.

BascoVanVeli:
Hopefully this means Murjanatu Musa will be signing with WNBA side soon. Even Christeen Iwuala.

BascoVanVeli:
Hopefully this means Murjanatu Musa will be signing with WNBA side soon. Even Christeen Iwuala.

Musa is in the playoffs with her French team. I think they have a semi final game this evening. It's the likely reason she's off the roster. Of course potential signing with a WNBA team would be great but I doubt that's the reason for her absence here.

A’ja Wilson has just signed the biggest ever WNBA Supermax contract with the Las Vegas Aces!
Her contract is worth $5 million over the next three years!
💰💸

lovewins:
Musa is in the playoffs with her French team. I think they have a semi final game this evening. It's the likely reason she's off the roster. Of course potential signing with a WNBA team would be great but I doubt that's the reason for her absence here.

Okay that makes more sense

Omo, wait ooo...we also called up Stephanie Okechukwu, a 7foot 2 Center?? Tallest player in NCAA women’s basketball history?

Rene Wakama Gonna Cook!

But I have not exactly seen her play. Na her height dey excite me. Lovewins, what you got on this Madam Goliath, my good man?

Oh alright. Goodluck to her in France. Murjanatu na name I dey find for Dtigresses rosters lately. Fine hardworking baller.

lovewins:
Musa is in the playoffs with her French team. I think they have a semi final game this evening. It's the likely reason she's off the roster. Of course potential signing with a WNBA team would be great but I doubt that's the reason for her absence here.

TheSuperNerd:
Omo, wait ooo...we also called up Stephanie Okechukwu, a 7foot 2 Center?? Tallest player in NCAA women’s basketball history?

Rene Wakama Gonna Cook!

But I have not exactly seen her play. Na her height dey excite me. Lovewins, what you got on this Madam Goliath, my good man?

Stephanie is yet to feature for her college team as they apparently her working to get her eligibility issues sorted with the NCAA. So we don't have a body of work to judge her by. We'll definitely have opportunities to get to see her play against formidable opponents soon and see how much of a potential she'll be. Whatever the case is, it's basketball and you can't teach height.

Deloitte is projecting that elite women’s sports, worldwide, will earn a combined revenue of US$3 billion this year, with football and basketball accounting for a combined 70% of the revenue😮‍💨

TheSuperNerd:
Yes my man! Just Great!

I just know they’re gonna give the WNBA opposition some headache!

lovewins:
Musa is in the playoffs with her French team. I think they have a semi final game this evening. It's the likely reason she's off the roster. Of course potential signing with a WNBA team would be great but I doubt that's the reason for her absence here.

Musa's team lost their game today and are out of the Euro League. BTW, it was a quarter final game and not a semi final as earlier indicated.

Who knows, just maybe she makes camp if she has no other commitments with her French team and doesn't have issues with visa.

Meanwhile, the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup draw takes place on April 21 (Tuesday), starting at 5pm Nigerian time….

As of now, tickets to the D’Tigress v LA Sparks friendly at the Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA, start at $48.40

lovewins:
Musa's team lost their game today and are out of the Euro League. BTW, it was a quarter final game and not a semi final as earlier indicated.

Who knows, just maybe she makes camp if she has no other commitments with her French team and doesn't have issues with visa.

Thanks for all the great work you are doing here, 🙏🙏 @ lovewins. Thanks for keeping us informed and updated.

PDPGuy:
As of now, tickets to the D’Tigress v LA Sparks friendly at the Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA, start at $48.40

Thanks for keeping us informed @ PDPGuy. Thanks a lot.

lovewins:
Roster for the forthcoming Friendly games with WNBA teams

So many new invitees to DTigress camp on the roster. Very good development. We need to see some competition for spots on the team to the FIBA World Cup in Berlin. At least, 3-4 shirts are up for grabs towards the World Cup. Coach Rena should look out for three very good 3 points shooters . We need ladies who can shoot 3 points on a whim. I can't wait to watch the games if Dtigress against WNBA teams . The NBBF and Rena got it right on this one 💪🇳🇬🇳🇬.

Redman44:
So many new invitees to DTigress camp on the roster. Very good development. We need to see some competition for spots on the team to the FIBA World Cup in Berlin. At least, 3-4 shirts are up for grabs towards the World Cup. Coach Rena should look out for three very good 3 points shooters . We need ladies who can shoot 3 points on a whim. I can't wait to watch the games if Dtigress against WNBA teams . The NBBF and Rena got it right on this one 💪🇳🇬🇳🇬.

As exciting as the roster is, I think the invitation is largely circumstantial. A typical NBBF list wouldn't look anything like this, you'll likely see a significant amount of local based players and players from the u19. The reason that isn't possible here is visa issues. Unlike Europe, getting logistical issues when it comes to the US is a nightmare and almost impossible to justify for a string of friendlies. It's why you'll notice all the players invited are either Nigerian Americans (that is US citizens) or players already in the US.

The closest example to reference is the Super Falcons debacle in 2021 when a large portion of the team had visa issues and Randy Waldrum had to start reaching out to players of Nigerian decent in the US. That's how players like Alozie, Esther etc got into the team.

The FIBA Women’s World Cup draw seedings are now set! ✅

PDPGuy:
The FIBA Women’s World Cup draw seedings are now set! ✅

What in the group of death is going on in group A? 😭 Why are France and Germany in the same group again?

Our group is also really tough.

lovewins:
As exciting as the roster is, I think the invitation is largely circumstantial. A typical NBBF list wouldn't look anything like this, you'll likely see a significant amount of local based players and players from the u19. The reason that isn't possible here is visa issues. Unlike Europe, getting logistical issues when it comes to the US is a nightmare and almost impossible to justify for a string of friendlies. It's why you'll notice all the players invited are either Nigerian Americans (that is US citizens) or players already in the US.

The closest example to reference is the Super Falcons debacle in 2021 when a large portion of the team had visa issues and Randy Waldrum had to start reaching out to players of Nigerian decent in the US. That's how players like Alozie, Esther etc got into the team.

There is nothing complicated going on. Even the WNBA teams knew that we would be using NCAA players just like Brazil did last year. Rena has been in communication with most those players for a while, they even follow eachother on Instagram.

BascoVanVeli:
What in the group of death is going on in group A? 😭 Why are France and Germany in the same group again?

Our group is also really tough.

Lol
Those are the seedings, not the actual groups.
The draw comes up on Tuesday

PDPGuy:
Lol
Those are the seedings, not the actual groups.
The draw comes up on Tuesday

Ahhh I for talk oh

BascoVanVeli:
There is nothing complicated going on. Even the WNBA teams knew that we would be using NCAA players just like Brazil did last year. Rena has been in communication with most those players for a while, they even follow eachother on Instagram.

You're arguing a point I didn't make. I didn't say it was complicated. Neither did I mention whether or not WNBA teams knew who or who will not make roster. I explained not some but all the players invited are either US citizens or already resident there. How does Brazil even compare?

First, you probably need to check the Brazilian roster you're referencing to see if it validates your point. Of the 12 players in that roster, only 4 were NCAA players who were already in the US. Of the remaining 8, 7 players were coming in from Brazil with one being US citizen. Of the 8, 5 were professional players playing in top leagues in Brazil and 3 were young players less than 18 who had committed to colleges in the US but had not at the time emigrated to the US.

Compare that to Nigeria who 100% drew players who were largely US citizens or were already in the US for college. Of the 20 14 are NCAA players. There's literally no basis for comparison.

Our “easiest” group would be Germany, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, and Czechia.

lovewins:
You're arguing a point I didn't make. I didn't say it was complicated. Neither did I mention whether or not WNBA teams knew who or who will not make roster. I explained not some but all the players invited are either US citizens or already resident there. How does Brazil even compare?

First, you probably need to check the Brazilian roster you're referencing to see if it validates your point. Of the 12 players in that roster, only 4 were NCAA players who were already in the US. Of the remaining 8, 7 players were coming in from Brazil with one being US citizen. Of the 8, 5 were professional players playing in top leagues in Brazil and 3 were young players less than 18 who had committed to colleges in the US but had not at the time emigrated to the US.

Compare that to Nigeria who 100% drew players who were largely US citizens or were already in the US for college. Of the 20 14 are NCAA players. There's literally no basis for comparison.

Because u made it seem like Rena is being forced to select American based players. This is nothing close to the Randy Waldrum situation. We have been talking about these players getting called up for these matches on this same thread.

Our team is largely filled with players connected to American. Our coach is an American born former player of ours. This is why I said there is nothing complicated going on here.

I brought up Brazil because it's almost the exact situation. U know they are not going to have a full team but u also know that they have quality college players who will fill in.

BascoVanVeli:
Because u made it seem like Rena is being forced to select American based players. This is nothing close to the Randy Waldrum situation. We have been talking about these players getting called up for these matches on this same thread.

Our team is largely filled with players connected to American. Our coach is an American born former player of ours. This is why I said there is nothing complicated going on here.

I brought up Brazil because it's almost the exact situation. U know they are not going to have a full team but u also know that they have quality college players who will fill in.

"Made it seem Rena was being forced". I literally did say it's corcumstancial? That is circumstances necessitated it. How is that force? I explained how that unlike Europe, getting a US visa is an hurcelean task, with the chances of being refused visa extremely high. It's happened to the Super Eagles before and the falcons too. It is exactly what led to Alozie and Esther amongst other being in the team as circumstances led to them being invited. Their being on the radar doesn't in any way make their inclusion now any less corcumstancial. They aren't mutually exclusive.

lovewins:
"Made it seem Rena was being forced". I literally did say it's corcumstancial? That is circumstances necessitated it. How is that force? I explained how that unlike Europe, getting a US visa is an hurcelean task, with the chances of being refused visa extremely high. It's happened to the Super Eagles before and the falcons too. It is exactly what led to Alozie and Esther amongst other being in the team as circumstances led to them being invited. Their being on the radar doesn't in any way make their inclusion now any less corcumstancial. They aren't mutually exclusive.

I was not talking about being forced by someone. If circumstances necessitate something, that means u are forced into picking a particular option. Just like Randy Waldrum was forced to call up Esther and Michelle. What I am saying is that these players have always been part of the plan. The games were more than likely agreed to with these players in mind so u can't compare it to the Waldrum situation. Even if Rena could snap her fingers and get every Nigerian player a visa, these would still be the players she selects.

PDPGuy:
Our “easiest” group would be Germany, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, and Czechia.

Nice. I would take Italy or Japan over Puerto Rico though.

Washington Mystics have signed Christeen Iwuala on a rookie scale contract, with a guaranteed minimum salary of $270,000/year.

She arrives in D.C. fresh off an impressive run at Ole Miss, where she averaged a near double-double with 12.5 PPG and 8.3 RPG on a sharp 60% shooting.

She recorded almost half of Ole Miss's double-doubles this season, becoming the first Rebel to accomplish the feat in 11 games since Scott had the same amount in the 2022-23 season.

Another big move for a rising Nigerian talent 💪🏾👏

BascoVanVeli:
Nice. I would take Italy or Japan over Puerto Rico though.

I understand where you’re coming from. For me, though, these mid-level Euro teams are tricky because they’re usually good with their 3-point shooting, which D’Tigress haven’t fully figured out how to defend against.

PDPGuy:
Washington Mystics have signed Christeen Iwuala on a rookie scale contract, with a guaranteed minimum salary of $270,000/year.

She arrives in D.C. fresh off an impressive run at Ole Miss, where she averaged a near double-double with 12.5 PPG and 8.3 RPG on a sharp 60% shooting.

She recorded almost half of Ole Miss's double-doubles this season, becoming the first Rebel to accomplish the feat in 11 games since Scott had the same amount in the 2022-23 season.

Another big move for a rising Nigerian talent 💪🏾👏

I just knew this girl was a WNBA player. So happy for her. No wonder she didn't make the list.

PDPGuy:
I understand where you’re coming from. For me, though, these mid-level Euro teams are tricky because they’re usually good with their 3-point shooting, which D’Tigress haven’t fully figured out how to defend against.

Oh no we have to get better at defending those 3s or else we won't do anything at the world cup. There is no negotiation when it comes to that part. In fact everything we did at the tournament will not cut it at all. If we don't improve we will be in big time trouble.