Basketball
D’Tigress Devour Stubborn DR Congo
The D’Tigress recorded their second win at the 2017 FIBA Women Afrobasket tournament after digging deep to defeat stubborn Democratic Republic of Congo by 84 points to 47.
Coach Sam Vincent again put faith in Ogoke Sarah, Elonu Adaora, Madu Ndidi, Akhator Evelyn and Kalu Ezinne who started against Mozambique in their first game on Friday at the Palais Des Sports arena in Bamako.
However, Nigeria got her win through the unusual suspects with Elitzur Holon of Israel star, Nyingifa Atonye Jennifer registering 13 points, four rebounds and three assists to lead the overall statistics table.
Upe Atosu scored 12points and provided two assists for the team while his Elephants Girls of Lagos counterpart, Nkeshi Akashili added 11points, one assist and three steals as she continued to push for a regular playing time in the team.
Adaora Elonu who led the team’s scoring chart in their last game against Mozambique caught five rebounds, provided four assists and scored nine points.
D’Tigress for the second time in as many games dominated proceedings and led their opponents all through the game to eventually emerge comfortable winners.
At the end of the first quarter, Nigeria shot to a 23points to eight lead before extending it to 41 points to 30 at the end of the second quarter.
It was not a third quarter that the D’Tigress team wished for as they struggled to make the baskets despite being in possession and moving the ball around for the better part of the quarter.
At the end of the third quarter, they only managed to score just 11 points which prompted the technical crew to call on fresh hands from the bench for the fourth quarter.
The display in the last quarter was a joy to behold with spectators and handful of Nigerians present at the arena led by the Nigerian Ambassador to Mali, His Excellency, Ken Nwachukwu rising to their feet at intervals to applaud the team’s display.
The team justified their pre-tournament hype as one of the teams to beat at the 2017 Afrobasket tournament as they put up a commanding performance to end the game at 84-47 against a side that made a return to the continental competition after more than 40 years of absence.
Speaking at the end of the game, D’Tigress point guard, Kalu Ezinne described the game as tough and an eye opener despite their display in the fourth quarter that gave them the comfortable lead.
Despite managing just seven points less than 24 hours after scoring a massive 16 points against Mozambique, Kalu who became a sensation at the 2016 Olympics qualifiers for the D’Tigress in France, is not worried as she is gratified that she played according to instructions.
“We just didn’t put a little bit of body on everybody. We really need to focus on boxing out because we are going to play bigger teams.
“So, I think as a team, we need to focus on boxing out and not allow our opposition to get the second chance shots.”
Despite admitting the need to be more decisive against their opponents, Kalu is not worried about their chances against bigger teams.
“It doesn’t make me worry; it just shows that we definitely need to buckle down on it. We just have to take it one game at a time. We need to focus on shooting, tossing out, boxing out and focus on the second chance shots so that when we play big team we don’t have to worry about these things,” Kalu concluded.
Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.
The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.
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Basketball
NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman
The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.
The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.
” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.
” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.
” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.
” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.
The DG added that he does not doubt that Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.
” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.
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Basketball
FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers
The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.
A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.
Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.
FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.
Here is FIBA’s analysis: The return of the Tokyo Olympian has been a blessing for Abdulrahman Mohammed’s Nigeria.
For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.
The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.
Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and Nisre Zouzoua (Cote d’Ivoire)
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