Captain of the Nigerian wheelchair basketball team, Ijigbamigbe Gbemisola Olubisi, has credited confidence, teamwork and determination for Nigeria’s historic participation in wheelchair basketball at the Commonwealth Games. Speaking in an interview with Sports247, she reflected on leading Nigeria into the competition for the first time. “At first, it was scary, but along the line, the confidence came, especially because I was working with the right team,” she said. “Everybody was rooting for the team, and that gave us the boost we needed.”
The captain highlighted the team’s turnaround against South Africa in the qualifiers in Angola. Nigeria lost 7–3 to South Africa in their opening game before responding with an 8–3 win in the final. “I think the defeat in the first game was because it was our first game in the competition. The team was nervous and scared because of the news about South Africa defeating other countries,” she explained. A post-match discussion with Kenya helped the side refocus, and she praised the squad for executing that plan.
At the Commonwealth Games, Nigeria secured a historic first victory in wheelchair basketball by defeating India in their third game, a result that carried them into the quarter-finals after earlier losses. “It was a close game, but I’m so grateful that when we needed the points to count, they counted,” Ijigbamigbe said, singling out teammate Nafisat for her contribution.
Ijigbamigbe added that she was present to support the Nigerian men’s team during their final against South Africa, though the men missed out on qualification. The milestone, she added, provides a platform to grow wheelchair basketball in Nigeria.
