Nigeria women’s basketball coach Rena Wakama has pledged to rebuild D’Tigress after a heavy defeat to France ended their FIBA World Cup campaign, with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics identified as the next major target.
Speaking after the loss to France, Wakama pointed to the inexperience in her squad. “When you have a new team and I have so many young players, I think I have about five or six young players on this team who have never been at this stage before, some of whom just graduated from college,” she said.
She singled out Grace Efosa for praise after the youngster scored 15 points in around 20 minutes.
Wakama said rebuilding must start with player identification. “It starts, one, with just who we’re getting in the uniforms, right? Just making sure that I’m continuing to put the best talent that Nigeria has to offer in these uniforms,” she said.
While acknowledging the support of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Wakama insisted the team must raise its level of preparation to return to the heights reached in Paris. She added that the increasing presence of African and Nigerian players in elite competitions made this the best time to be involved in women’s basketball.
