*Urged to sustain momentum as they take on hosts France on Thursday
Duro Ikhazuagbe
Critical stakeholders in the country's sports rose in unison to pour encomiums on the awesome performance of Nigeria's senior women's basketball team, the D'Tigress, who defeated world number three Australia 75-62 in the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games yesterday.
The victory is the first for any Nigerian basketball team at the Olympic Games in 20 years. The only other time D'Tigress won a game was at their inaugural outing in Athens, Greece in 2004 when they defeated South Korea 68-64.
The multiple Afrobasket champions from Africa came into the game against the Opal of Australia as underdogs. They however seized the momentum from the first quarter. They chalked up all four stanzas 18-17, 23-11, 10-19 and 24-15 to announce their readiness to fight for a place in the quarter-final.
Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, in his goodwill message to the victorious ladies, showered praises on the D'Tigress for their outstanding performance on Monday morning.
Senator Enoh expressed his pride and excitement, stating, "This victory is not just a win; it is a monumental achievement. Our D'Tigress have shown the world what determination and teamwork can achieve. They have made every Nigerian proud, beating the number three nation in the world rankings."
He added, "The resilience and spirit displayed by our women's basketball team are a beacon of hope and inspiration for all athletes competing in Paris. Their performance is a shining example of the excellence we aspire to achieve across all sports."
The minister stressed that the victory will undoubtedly "boost the morale of the entire Team Nigeria, and I am confident that it will lead to more successes in the days to come. Let us all rally behind our athletes as they continue to strive for greatness."
Similarly, the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida congratulated D'Tigress on the victory in their first game.
An elated Kida described the win as historic and inspirational because no Nigeria Basketball team had won a match in 20 years, before this match. He praised the resilience and determination of the D'Tigress to defeat the current world's third-rated team in the world.
"Nigerians are happy and joyous over this victory, and it is indicative of the never-say-die attitude of the average Nigerian. It's also a testament to the unrelenting and concerted efforts of the board of NBBF to place the country in its pride of place, in the comity of sporting nations, and Basketball especially, he remarked.
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He added that the team would not rest on its oars, even as the spirited and awesome performance of the team, has put them on a better stead to go ahead and fight for a podium finish.
D'Tigress will next meet host France, on Thursday, in their second group game, and the game is expected to be a very tough one, as well, in view of the fact that France will have tumultuous home support, but expect the D'Tigress to prevail at the end of the match.
Sponsors of the longest women's basketball league in the country, Zenith Bank also congratulated D'Tigress over the victory in Paris 2024.
Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Adaora Umeoji, expressed delight over the amazing feat which has been tagged one of the greatest upsets in the history of the Olympic Games basketball event.
Umeoji noted that the bank was proud of the girls especially because it was a historic win by a team that is the 'pet team' of Zenith Bank
Zenith Bank has been the sole sponsor of the national women's league in the past 19 years and the competition has produced many national team stars for the country.
For example, Murjanatu Musa, who was the MVP of the 2022 Zenith Bank Women's Basketball League, was in the starting line-up for D'Tigress on Monday.
"We are extremely proud of the ladies because they are challenging us as a body to do more for sports development in Nigeria.
"The victory over Australia is a good and the Nigerian spirit was evident in the girls. We are charging them to go all out to achieve more at the ongoing games in Paris, France,"Umeoji said.
