By Akinwale Kasali
The Nation’s Female Basket team, D’Tigress, has scaled the quarter final hurdle of the FIBA Afrobasket 2021 championship taking place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, defeating perennial rival, Cote d’ Ivoire in a pulsating encounter.
The Ivorians trailed 20 points at the end of the Fourth Quarter, as it couldn’t matched the attacking prowess and experience of their West African rivals, losing 72-52 Points.
Coach Otis Hughley Jnr of the D’Tigress lamented that unfair and poor officiating could have robbed his ladies the victory in the quarter final encounter, but zeal, passion, determination and wealth of experience of the ladies prevailed, leading to the triumph.
Expressing his grievances over poor officiating after the game, Hughley Jr. said officiating at the tournament has been below expectations, stressing that foreign players at Club level who represented their countries would were disappointed and discouraged In participating in subsequent continental championships.
Hughley further added that the D’Tigress who are back to back Champions of the tournament triumphed because of the mental strength they possess, appealing to the organizers to put away politics out of the game and stop condoning rough play, bringing about quality officiating that the game is known for.
From the first quarter of the game played at he Palais Polyvalert des Sports, D’Tigress took a 14-0 lead, forcing the Ivorian Coach,
Igor Kovasevic to call for a time Out to slow down Nigeria’s rhythm, but it didn’t stop the Nigerians from recording a 24-8 lead at the end of the quarter.
The D’Tigress will face the Senegal Female National Team in the Semi Finals of the championship.
Senegal defeated Mozambique in the other quarter final match 74-46, to stage a repeat of the 2019 FIBA Afrobasket Championship Final against the D’Tigress in Dakar, Senegal, where Nigeria defeated Senegal to lift the coveted trophy at the expense of their host.
Hughley Jnr, have promised to bring the trophy back to Nigeria, stressing that his players are prepared, motivated and bent on defending the title it won two years ago.
