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Nigeria entered the game after making history as the first African basketball team (male and female) to advance to the Olympic Games quarterfinals. Before the start of the 2024 Olympic Games, D’Tigress last won a game at the Olympics 20 years ago, against South Korea in Athens, Greece. Led by their 32-year-old coach Rena Wakama, Nigeria, the least placed team (ranked 12th) in Group B, which included hosts France, Australia (ranked 3rd), and Canada (ranked 5th), shocked the world by beating Australia by 75-62 points and Canada by 79-70 points to set up a quarterfinal showdown against the United States.
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An interesting part of the D’Tigress story at the Paris Olympics is coach Rena Wakama, who made history as the first woman to lead a Nigerian basketball team to the Olympics and the first Nigerian basketball coach to win two games in the Olympic Games. She also led the D’Tigress to win an Afrobasket title.
“I know I’m the first woman to achieve this, but I hope not to be the last. I hope everyone can see that we are capable of amazing things when given the opportunity. Thank you again to the president for this incredible chance,”Wakama said of her achievements. Nigeria must build on the successes achieved at the global showpiece and come back stronger in 2028.
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