₦airaland Forum

Danielnino00:
Maybe we shouldn't even play France..they will blow us out...

You're right, this team has reached its ceiling....there's nothing more they can achieve


The fact that a 2 month training camp couldn't change anything shows how bad we are...

There might be underlying issues as to what has played out in Berlin. Have the girls been paid the 100,000 USD they were promised after they won the last Afrobasket tournament ? Have they received the money in their accounts? Was the money released to the NBBF by the Presidency as promised? These questions need to be answered. Coach Rena herself was not available throughout most of the camping period. As @Carbonado pointed out, a good Coach should be full-time and be physically present to inspire the girls and plan very well with them. I feel very bad at the moment.

lovewins:
I hope Rena plays Maryam and Igbokwe on Monday. The game is of no consequence, so it will be great to see how they fair against an opposition like France.

Coach Rena herself should resign and face her WNBA Coaching Assistant job. She seems far more interested in her WNBA job for obvious reasons. Coach Otis Hughley discovered the pillars of this squad. Hughley was a full time Coach for D'tigress and we saw the results and what he achieved with our ladies from 2018 to 2023. We need to get a new Coach who will be full time ( NBBF should look for sponsors ) and who can build a new team. Many basketball lovers in Nigeria are vexed now. After two months in Camp, we came to Berlin to suffer defeats against Korea and Hungary ( two nations we should normally defeat ). All the blame should not be put on Coach Rena . She has tried her best for Nigeria ( 2 Afrobasket Trophies and a strong showing at the 2024 Olympics ). We did not plan very well for Berlin 2026 and we failed to execute our game plan. Cheers.

Alexclem:
Is this the most beautiful girl in Nigeria ?

😀😀😀😀 Hmn. I comment my reserve.

Yes, she deserves to win the contest. Miss Dominican Republic is very beautiful and shapely. Congrats to her💪💪.

This is the Rena's team now. She relied majorly on players scouted by other Coaches . Now that she has brought in 4 new players and getting her own Squad, the performance is sub par 🙄.

user32:
they are still good for afro

Good for where 🙄😬? The likes of Senegal, Mali, Cameroun and Mozambique know our weaknesses now. They won't be fazed with our big names again.

user32:
Spending 2 months in camp.. still can't shoot accurately

That next Afrobasket for Women eh 🙄🙄🙄, Nigeria will surrender the title to Mali . Mali just defeated Spain and we are playing Hungary like this 😬😬.

We are not intentional against Hungary at all. We should be leading in this first quarter 😬😬.

TheSuperNerd:
Wow... Mali beat Spain?? PDPGuy, same Spain that is meant to worry USA?

We can beat France too. No team is unbeatable. Congrats to Mali.

vannessa7:
So what do you do in that rural area of Ondo, please share

Ondo State is not bad at all. I served in Ondo State in 2005/2006. If you are an entrepreneur, you will thrive in Ondo State with your good ideas. All the towns in the State are fertile grounds for good products to be sold. You can also farm successfully in Ondo State 🌾🍌🌽🌱🌻.

The Nigerian Basketball Federation ( NBBF ) should set up Children's and teenagers basketball development offices in every Nigerian State for starters. If planned well, secondary schools can house these NBBF development offices and facilities ( our public secondary schools have a lot of space and unused land ). Then, the NBBF can seek corporate sponsorships for Leagues and Mini Leagues in our inner towns and rural areas. If we don't embed basketball skills into children and teenagers in secondary schools and create several leagues for them to develop their talents, we cannot compete with the USA, Spain, France, Belgium, Japan etc internationally 🏀🏀🏀🇳🇬.

Nigeria has to be intentional concerning basketball going forward. It seems Northern and South West Nigeria does not realize their potentials when it comes to height and basketball. What are we doing with all these tall Fulani and Hausa girls in the North? There are also many tall girls from minority tribes in Northern Nigeria. Why is basketball not being introduced into their schools? If we are looking for tall D'tigress players, then we have to start from now by creating a pipeline that starts from our secondary schools basketball courts into many leagues created for youth basketball to the American collegiate basketball system ( where these tall girls can be refined ) and to the W or European Leagues.

There are many tall Yoruba girls in secondary schools in the Southwest who are not into any Sports at all. Is the NBBF taking basketball into Secondary schools in the deep south Western Nigeria 🏀🏀? I am talking about setting up basketball programs in places like Ikare Akoko ( Ondo State ), Oke Ogun ( Oyo State ), ikire ( Osun State ), Odosenlu, Odo Kalaba, ilu titun, Ago Iwoye ( Ogun State ) etc. We have tall agile girls and boys in these small towns and villages who are not engaged in any sports in a serious manner except in the normal inter-house sports athletics races. What are we doing about these talents ? Are we saying there are no Corporate bodies that can fund these basketball programs ? Cheers.

Danielnino00:
Tomorrow against Korea, I hope we dominate in the paint



We have the height advantage, although the Koreans are better shooters..

We should work hard to defeat Korea and Hungary. Against France, we will be playing against a very experienced team that is also stacked with ballers. Our opponents are not easy at all. Beating Korea and Hungary is very possible.

carbonado:
Roster from FIBA website..

Shay Ijiwoye has been dropped then 😎. Looks like your sources are correct @ Carbonado.

Palmpay is great. I love using this Fintech banking solution. Cheers.

BascoVanVeli:
No Uche and Gabby is very bad.

Hmn. I can't really explain why one of them did not make the final roster. Gabby White was outstanding during the friendly games with the WNBA teams. Personally, I believe Izoje has age on her side and should continue to develop in the Collegiate basketball system. Izoje is a future D'tigress player. Gabby should have made this roster to Berlin. More light should be thrown on why she did not make the team.

lovewins:
This is not a great list, but also not a bad list. I think we had limited options and Coach Rena had to work with what she had so this is the best we can put hope considering the circumstances.

One player I would have appreciated her inclusion however would have been[b] Michelle Ugonne Onyiah[/b]. She's currently a player with the Indiana Fever even though she's yet to play, but from a college stats alone I think she would have helped us significantly both offensively and defensively. I think she participated in the November 2025 training camp. Her exclusion however isn't mysterious cause she wasn't in any of the preparatory training camp. If she was I don't think Nicole would have made the team.

Yes, Ugonne Onyiah. Yes, she is a good player. I also agree that she would have been a ruby and a great addition to D'tigress roster to the FIBA World Cup kicking off in a matter of hours. I will be happy seeing her suit up for D'tigress in the future. The next Women's Afrobasket will be very competitive. Nigeria has to be prepared.

lovewins:
She should have been out of the team a long time. I'll even take Lauren Ebo ahead of her and that's saying something. For Okoro she didn't participate in the training camp and this may be she to visa issues (not saying it is, but likely) so she was already positionally disadvantaged with her absence. Worthy of note also is that when Okoro featured at the last qualifying tournament Grace Efosa was absent. They are more or less same kind of player. I don't think it makes sense to have both of them on a roster.

She also wasn't necessarily great at the qualifying tournament though the entire team was terrible. She averaged 5PPG and shot 0% from 3. She didn't make one 3 point shot. Not like Grace is significantly better but they are not very different in my opinion.

@lovewins, thanks for throwing light on the reason why Ifunanya Okoro might not have made camp. I like Okoro's game though. However, I have seen Grace Efosa in action and she brings fire to the game on her great days. As for Blessing Ejiofor, she was just a filler in the D'tigress Hamburger . I knew she would be dropped if better players come along to the training camps. And it has happened 🏀🙂.

lovewins:
Michaela Onyewere may never play for Nigeria and the reason may be her family's disposition to how Nigeria basketball is being run. This is a comment made by her dad on a post asking why she is yet to play for Nigeria.

So we may just need to keep her out of future D'Tigress roster conversations.

Well, it is her family's decision 🙄🙄. They can continue to stick with their decision . D'tigress Program is moving on without Michaela Onyenwere. More younger players are showing up for D'tigress training camps and with what I saw during the D'tigress matchups against the WNBA teams this year, we have a large pool of players to select from in the future. Besides, Ezinne Kalu, Victoria Macaulay, Promise Amukamara are also Nigerian-Americans and they played for Nigeria without complaining about corruption and other vices of Nigerian leaders. Cheers.

PDPGuy:
Formidable roster right there, but I’m surprised by that Gabby White was dropped! She is one PG that I thought, based on her performances in the various friendlies, that would make the plane to Germany.

Blessing Ejiofor and Ifunanya Okoro did not make the roster. I have not been impressed with Ejiofor 's game for a long time. So I am not surprised she did not make the cut. Okoro on the other hand is not a bad player. I did not really see her in camp. I have not watched the friendly games against China, Belgium, Spain , Puerto Rico. Did Ifunanya Okoro play in the games I have just mentioned ? @ lovewins, @ Carbonado, @ Danielnino, @ PDPGuy etc. Cheers 🏀🏀🏀.

Danielnino00:
🚨 BREAKING: D’TIGRESS ROSTER UPDATE 🇳🇬🏀

Here is the latest 12-player roster for Nigeria’s D’Tigress ahead of the FIBA Women’s World Cup in Germany.

🇳🇬 Promise Amukamara
🇳🇬 Jordan Obi
🇳🇬 Elizabeth Balogun
🇳🇬 Musa Murjanatu
🇳🇬 Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah
🇳🇬 Rita Igbokwe
🇳🇬 Victoria Macaulay
🇳🇬 Ezinne Kalu
🇳🇬 Shay Ijiwoye
🇳🇬 Nicole Enabosi
🇳🇬 Amy Okonkwo
🇳🇬 Grace Efosa

12 players. One mission. 🇳🇬🔥

#DTigress #NigeriaBasketball #fibawwc

This is a decent roster. I am happy with this team list 🙂. Four fresh D'tigress players for the FIBA World Cup 💪. Rena must have taken the time to watch all the friendly games against the WNBA teams, 3 games against China, games against Belgium and Spain and the matchup against Puerto Rico 🏀🏀🏀. Uche Izoje and Gabby White are future players for D'tigress. They could feature in the next Afrobasket tournament. I believe Coach Rena chose experience by sticking with Jordan Obi, Rita Igbokwe, Grace Efosa and Shay Ijiwoye. The likes of Amukamara, Macaulay and Ezinne Kalu will retire in a couple of years. More younger fresh players will fancy their chances of snagging D'tigress shirts in the next two years 🙂.

Wike talks too much. This overconfidence he has might be his undoing on 2027.

Danielnino00:
You do have a point, but like Lovewins said, such things are quite common in basketball..
Also, don't forget that the NBBF don't have the financial power to hire a full time coach... Or do you want Rena to quit her job as the Sky assistant coach and Hive BC head coach?

These things can't be helped...

The deputy Coach of D'tigress took charge of all the preparations on behalf of Coach Rena. And I am sure Rena must have been communicating with the team electronically 💪. Communication and instructions can be made and passed through several electric channels these days. No worries though. I am awaiting the final roster of D'tigress for the World Cup 🏆🏀🏀.

Rest In Peace, Dolly Parton. She was a great woman . Amazing and Gifted Musician 🙏. Her talent was undeniable. I love her songs and I started listening to her music through my Mum.

Gerrard59:
Thanks for your reply. I can only imagine the costs involved.

Best wishes, sir!

I will always recommend living in a developed country to a sane, relatively young and ambitious Nigerian for at least two years. I believe it helps with exposure to proper working systems, thus creating an opportunity for our people to learn, unlearn and relearn. Whether they will apply what they have unlearned, relearned and learned into their daily activities upon returning to Nigeria is left to them. But the abroad experience (studying, working and living) is priceless.

I agree with what you have just said completely 💪🙏. The exposure gained by spending a few years in Europe, North America, Asia, Australia etc is Priceless. Cheers.

Good Morning . How are you and your family? Zobo seedlings are still available. You can plant your own Zobo in your compound and watch it blossom gradually over 3 months. Then you can harvest the calyxes and make Zobo in your own kitchen. Zobo drinks are good for the eyes. Cheers.

Call or Whatsapp me on 07049598500 for your Hibiscus Sabdariffa seedlings. Thanks.

Tolu.

BascoVanVeli:
Which best players? we are not good enough. They should invite younger players and give them the experience.

Stan Okoye should retire asap. He has done well for Dtigers and Nigeria. It is true that we need to rebuild both Dtigers and D'tigress Squads . David Fizdale should be hired on a long term basis so that he can actually find the players he needs, build a squad and a roster that can win him the next Afrobasket and other Championships 🏀🏀🏀🏆.

Danielnino00:
Guinea thrashing Cameroon even puts us in a tighter spot.. I'm surprised they won..

If Tunisia beat South Sudan, we will need to win all our remaining games.

The bad news is that the next qualification window will take place when the NBA and European league is at its peak, so, some players may not be willing to show up

What led to the losses against South Sudan and Cameroun is that we changed the roster 75%. We brought in some very inexperienced players who have not featured in international FIBA competitions or qualifiers. We missed players like Ike Iroegbu, Uche Iroegbu and Akunbodo 🙏🇳🇬. Mekowulu could not make the roster too. We just need to assemble a crack team together for the last set of games next year. We must bring back the Iroegbu brothers at all costs. We need a very experienced team. We must drop all the under performing players in the last two rosters 🙏.

Danielnino00:
We beat Cape Verde 100-84


Good win,but I'm afraid our qualification hope is still very slim

We have put ourselves in a very tight situation. We will need to win the return games against Cameroun, South Sudan and Cape Verde convincingly. We have to get our best players and guards together for the next window. We are not good enough and we should know that by now.

Rest in peace, Peter Cullen.

Too bad

Why did the Coach not get the Iroegbu brothers and Akunbodo in for this game ?