NBBF to Retain D’Tigress Coach After Historic Olympic Run

Posted : 12 August 2024

The President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Musa Kida, has announced that D’Tigress Head Coach, Rena Wakama, will be retained following their historic performance at the Paris Olympics.

Kida made this announcement in an interview in Paris, France. Just over a year into her tenure as the first female head coach of D’Tigress, Wakama led the team to victory at the AfroBasket in 2023 and secured their qualification for the Olympics in February.

The NBBF President noted that the journey to Paris 2024 began in 2017. He had informed followers of the game that D’Tigress would surprise the world. “They achieved the same feat in the FIBA World Cup in Spain in 2018; from there, it was a smooth transition to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Our preparations for Tokyo were second to none; I don’t think our girls have ever been more prepared for any Olympics. Unfortunately, despite top-notch preparations, we didn’t perform as expected due to a lack of resources.”

Kida reflected on the challenges faced in 2021 and 2022, including internal frictions and issues with allowances, which led to the government’s decision to withdraw the team from international women’s basketball events. “We had to regroup and rebuild from there,” Kida said.

Nigeria’s historic run in the women’s basketball tournament at Paris 2024 has been marked by defensive strength and inspiration from their young coach. The team became the first African side, male or female, to reach the quarter-finals of an Olympic Games.

It is worth noting that the team secured a win on their Olympic debut in Athens in 2004 but had to wait 20 years for their next victory. Their triumphant return to AfroBasket in 2023 set the stage for their recent success. “Wakama brought in new talent, and we supported her in building a new team with a few veterans. We successfully navigated the qualifiers, winning AfroBasket for the fourth consecutive time, then qualifying for the Olympics in Belgium. We also had a strategic plan for our July trip to Germany, which included three friendlies—one in Berlin, one in Serbia, and one against the Japanese team here in Paris,” Kida explained. He added that although the team was well-prepared, he would have preferred an even better preparation for an improved performance in Paris.

NBBF to Retain D’Tigress Coach After Historic Olympic Run

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