Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated the national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, on their triumphant outing at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, describing the victory as a testament to the nation’s indomitable spirit and sporting excellence.

In line with what the women’s football team, Super Falcons, experienced barely a week ago, another dollar rainfall could be in the offing for the basketball team.

In a statement released Monday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu praised the Coach Rena Wakama-led side for their “skill, resilience, determination, and teamwork,” which powered them to a 78–64 victory over Mali in Sunday night’s pulsating final at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

With this win, Nigeria extended their dominance in African women’s basketball, securing their fifth consecutive AfroBasket title and seventh overall, further solidifying their status as the continent’s most successful women’s team.

The President, who had earlier dispatched a nine-man presidential delegation to Abidjan to support the team in the final, commended the players for rising to the occasion despite a slow start that saw them lose the first quarter to a determined Malian side.

“Your superb performance throughout the competition has made Nigeria proud. Like the Super Falcons, you have inspired our young ladies. You embodied the indomitable Nigerian spirit, the power of unity, and the rewards of hard work,” President Tinubu said.

He added that D’Tigress’ sustained excellence had “written their names in history” and served as a beacon of what Africa can offer on the global sporting stage.

The President also praised Head Coach Rena Wakama and her technical crew for their outstanding leadership, and commended the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) for their steadfast support to the team.

In an apparent nod to the recent cash rewards showered on the Super Falcons, there is strong speculation that a similar financial windfall may await D’Tigress on their return to Nigeria.

“The Federal Government and Nigerians will never forget the sacrifices and remain grateful for the highly elevating performances,” Tinubu stated, assuring the team of continued support as they prepare for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournaments next March.

President Tinubu concluded his message by expressing eagerness to personally receive the victorious team and their trophy in Abuja and wished them a safe trip back home.

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South Sudan’s Bright Starlets are the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket bronze medallist. 

The debutants who made the competition on a wild card, stunned 11-time champions Senegal 66-65 in the Third-Place Game on Sunday, August 3 to clinch their first ever medal in the continental showpiece. 

Their win over Senegal, who were looking to end a decade-long wait for gold, makes it the third time the West Africans have missed out on the podium in 26 editions. They missed in the inaugural edition in 1966 and in 2021 in Cameroon, finishing fourth on both occasions. 

Senegal had a start to forget, scoring a single point in the opening seven minutes, finishing the period trailing 26-10. An 18-9 show in the second stanza got their comeback efforts going. 

South Sudan still had a 10-point lead with 4 minutes and 41 seconds to play in the third, but Victorine Thiaw contributed seven in a 10-0 run for the Senegalese, to level the score at 44 and it was game on. 

Khadija Faye handed Senegal their first short-lived lead at 46-45, but they trailed 50-48 heading to the final quarter. 

Lena Timera gave the 11-time champions their biggest lead yet with a step back jump shot from deep for 58-54 but the debutants refused to budge.  

A dramatic final minute saw Thiaw and Faye miss four crucial points from the charity stripe with the score tied at 65. Cierra Dillard’s foul with 6 seconds left gave Nyamer Lual Diew the chance to win it for South Sudan, converting one for the massive victory. 

HERO

 Maria Teresa Gakdeng, on debut for the Bright Starlets, has continued to prove a formidable addition for the East Africans, and she demonstrated that yet again with a huge performance.

She came two blocks shy of a triple-double after shooting for 14, the team’s second highest, while grabbing 13 rebounds and added three assists to finish with an efficiency rating of 26.

 Skipper Adut Bulgak scored 14 as well, while leading the side on defense with 11 of her 13 rebounds. Delicia Washington was the side’s top scorer with 22, coming two assists off a double-double and adding 5 rebounds.

The trio will, however, have Diew to thank for the victory in regulation time, as a miss would probably have send the match to overtime.

STATS DON’T LIE

Despite allowing Senegal to score 30 from their 29 turnovers, and missing 14 of their 32 chances from the charity stripe, South Sudan kept themselves in the game with a better show on field goals where they converted 45.8% of their chances against Senegal’s 38.3%.

 They out rebounded Senegal 44-26, 29-17 on defense to deny the 2023 silver medalist any second chance scoring opportunities.

BOTTOM LINE

 South Sudan have left an indelible mark on debut, reaching the podium in a historic run that saw them come from two losses in the Group Phase to beat Egypt, Uganda and Senegal for the very first time and become the first debutant to be on the podium.

The West Africans, meanwhile, will have some reflections as they are yet to reclaim their dominance of yesteryears. This is the second time since their last title in 2015 that they are missing out on the podium.

WHAT THEY SAID: “Wins happen, losses happen, you can’t win them all. What really matters in sports is how you regroup the next day. You have to have a short memory in this field.

 Speaking to our resilience as a team and the mental toughness that took to overcome what happened yesterday [semifinal loss against Mali] and throughout this tournament… This is our first run in AfroBasket and our team deserves to be here.

“The girls have shown it this time around, especially of how young they are. I am looking forward to what the future has for us.” South Sudan power forward Adut Bulgak.

FIBA

Final Standing of the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket

1. Nigeria 2. Mali 3. South Sudan 4. Senegal 5. Cameroon 6. Mozambique 7. Cote d’Ivoire 8. Uganda 9. Egypt 10. Angola 11. Rwanda 12. Guinea

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Nigerian forward Amy Okonkwo was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) at the conclusion of the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, after helping Nigeria secure a historic fifth consecutive title.

Okonkwo, who spent the entire 40 minutes of the title game to finish with 19 points, headlined the All-Tournament Team alongside Cierra Dillard (Senegal), Delicia Washington (South Sudan), Jane Asinde (Uganda) and Sika Kone (Mali).

Here’s a look at how the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket All-Star came about.

Thanks to an incredible run in five games, Okonkwo won the highly sought-after award back-to-back, emerging as the D’Tigresses’ best scorer.

She saved the best for last, scoring 19 points in the final against Mali and finishing with double digits in all but one match (against Mozambique, where she scored eight).

Over the course of the five games, Okonkwo averaged 14 points, 6 rebounds, and an efficiency rating of 15.6.

Cierra Dillard (SENEGAL)

Without her, Senegal would have struggled to reach the Final Four.

Despite an injury that threatened to sideline her from the 2025 event, Dillard led the team with an average efficiency rating of 16.8, 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game.

Delicia Washington (SOUTH SUDAN)

Since her South Sudan debut, the 28-year-old has been quite the revelation for the East Africans.

In Abidjan, where she led the Bright Starlets of South Sudan to a historic bronze medal win in her debut, she averaged 18.2 points and went on to win the Best Scorer award, achieving double digits in all six matches.

She opened her campaign with a double-double against Mali, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. She was also two assists shy of a double-double in the third-place win against the 11-time champions, Senegal.

Jane Asinde (UGANDA)

Although Uganda settled for eighth place, their captain, Asinde, stood out with 15.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game.

She led her team with an efficiency rating of 17.6, the highest among the Zone Five champions.

Sika Kone (MALI)

The WNBA star was Mali’s knight in shining armour in their quest to end an 18-year title drought, averaging 10.4 points and 11 rebounds.

She bounced back from a slow start against South Sudan in the group phase, when she scored only three points in 24 minutes, to register three double-doubles.

She went 15/16 on points and rebounds against Cameroon, 12/12 against Mozambique in the quarterfinals, and 16/13 in the final against Nigeria.

Other awards

Best Rebounder – Maria Teresa Gakdeng (South Sudan)

 Best 3-Point Shooter– Jessica Thomas (Cameroon)

 Best Scorer – Delicia Washington (South Sudan).

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