Many had favoured the D’Tigress to retain the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title at the championship held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, having won it four times and especially thrice consecutively before the latest edition. Although they struggled in their earlier games in Abidjan but nonetheless still rallied to victory without conceding to a single defeat, the tide changed by the time they dumped Cameroon in the quarterfinals.
After the D’Tigress defeated Senegal in the semifinals and set a date with Mali in the final on August 2, very few, if at all, doubted their prowess and resolve to bring the trophy home. Mali fell 78-64 in the final, as expected.
Among the first Nigerians to react to D’Tigress’ feat was the former vice president Yemi Osinbajo, who waxed poetic on his X handle: “Five straight titles. Seven total. Nearly a decade unbeaten. This is not a streak. This is a standard. Amy Okonkwo channeled Kobe. Fearless, composed, and clinical when the court got loud. Promise Amukamara moved with Magic’s elegance. Always reading two plays ahead. Nicole Enabosi brought A’ja Wilson’s strength. Steady in the paint. Sure in her steps. Pallas Kunaiyi Akpannah moved like Hakeem. Soft touch. Clean boards. Footwork is like memory. Elizabeth Balogun did not just shoot. She cooked. Chef Curry with the shot boy. From deep. From corners. The net had no peace. And Ezinne Kalu stayed cool. Played like Chris Paul. Vision. Grit. Always in charge. They executed like a team that studied the assignment, marked the scheme of work, and still asked for extra credit. No panic. No flinching. Just that quiet Nigerian confidence we like to call no gree for anybody. And then there’s Coach @_coachre. First female coach to win two back-to-back AfroBasket titles for Nigeria. But more than the win was the way she won. Her playbook was a masterclass. Her timeouts? Swift, subtle, and somehow more effective than a halftime sermon. She switched defenses like @tunde_onakoya plays chess. Not loudly, but deliberately. Quiet thinking. Loud results. And let us not ignore the message in her wardrobe. All Made in Nigeria. Every blazer and sleeve said the same thing. Walk in who you are. You wear the flag before you lift it. Final score: 78 to 64 Final message: Nigeria is not attending history. We are writing it. In green. In white. In gold. This is not just a team. This is a thesis. We are D’Tigress. Five straight titles. Nearly ten years unbeaten. A tiger does not shout its tigritude. It pounces. D’Tigress no gree for anybody. Dem no just show face. Dem own the court. We did not come to play. We came to reign.”
A cheering crowd awaited the team at the Abuja airport on August 4 and as they alighted from the aircraft that brought them in, they saw a sea of heads through which they meandered before being driven in a motorcade to the President Villa where a reward of $100,000 was announced by the Federal Government for each of the players and an additional $50,000 to members of the technical crew. Each player and official in the team also got the reward of a flat in the Federal Capital Territory. In addition, they were all rewarded with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
Coach Rena Wakama, now the first female basketball coach in Africa to win consecutive titles, shed light on why her players struggled earlier on in the championship. “We had only six training sessions before our first game while other teams had months. It became a mental battle for us but we didn’t complain because we had a war to overcome,” the 33-year-old former Nigeria player said.
However, she revealed that she still has a long way to go in her quest for greatness. “I just want to say I’m not done. With this team, I want to keep winning for a long time and establish a legacy as a coach,” she also said.
But she looked beyond winning too: “I fully acknowledged the symbolic importance of my position and I really hope that the leadership I have so far given to this team would encourage more Nigerian women to take on coaching roles. It breaks my heart that there are not many women here on this job, but I also know that change has started with me because to be a woman and get an opportunity to coach at this level is a good sign for others.”
Her technical ability shone not only in the two AfroBasket triumphs but also on the world stage, having the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, become one of the event’s biggest shocks as Nigeria defeated Canada 79–70, becoming the first African male or female team to reach the quarter-finals in Olympic basketball history. The success won for the Western Carolina University graduate the FIBA’s Best Coach award, further solidifying her status as one of the most respected young coaches in the sport.
Wakama draws huge inspiration from being an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, a position she hopes would help D’Tigress as they prepare for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
Okonkwo: A shining star
Forward Amy Okonkwo, at 28. has become Nigeria’s most decorated Most Valuable Player in AfroBasket history. The United States-born, who was crowned the tournament’s MVP at the 2023 edition also scooped the award again.
Prior to the emergence of Okonkwo, only three Nigerian players had received the AfroBasket MVP award: Mfon Udoka in 2005, Ezinne Kalu in 2019, and Adaora Elonu in 2021, but each had won it once. Okonkwo now joins Angola’s Nacissela Maurício and Senegal’s Aya Traore as the only players to have won two MVP awards at the AfroBasket. Only Senegal’s Mame Maty Mbengue, who won three MVPs in 1993, 1997 and 2000, remains ahead in the all-time ranking.
The commanding presence of Okonkwo during the latest championship was evident. In five games, she averaged 14 points, six rebounds while also posting an efficiency rate of 15.6. When the going got tough in the final game against Mali, she responded with a complete 40-minute performance, scoring 19 points. Alongside Cierra Dillard (Senegal), Delicia Washington (South Sudan), Jane Asinde (Uganda) and Sika Kone (Mali), she also made the All-Tournament Team.
Okonkwo debuted with D’Tigress at the 2021 AfroBasket where she had averaged 9.4 points and 4.2 rebounds to help Nigeria win the trophy. But her feats at the 2023 and 2025 events, where she made the All-Star have shown that the 2021 performance was no fluke. Indeed, her rise on the courts has also demonstrated Nigeria’s rise and resolve to excel in the coming years, especially on the world stage.
Published on August 9, 2025
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