Ahmedu, Amachree, Udoka urge D’Tigress to fly Nigeria’s flag at 2026 World Cup
By Uzor Odigbo
With the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup tipping off in Berlin, Germany, Nigeria’s D’Tigress have received words of encouragement from basketball stakeholders and former national team stars ahead of their global campaign.
FIBA Africa Zone 3 President and FIBA Africa Executive Committee member, Col. Sam Ahmedu (Rtd.), has urged the Nigerian team to continue flying the country’s flag with pride and determination at the tournament.
Ahmedu, who is also a board member of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and a former FIBA Technical Delegate, challenged the players to draw inspiration from the fighting spirit that has helped D’Tigress dominate African basketball.
Nigeria have won seven African titles, including back-to-back triumphs in 2003, 2005 and from 2017 through 2025. The latest continental crown came in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 2025.
Ahmedu also reminded the players of Nigeria’s impressive performances on the global stage, particularly their run to the quarter-finals of the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Tenerife, Spain, where they defeated European heavyweights Turkey and Greece before falling to eventual champions, the United States.
That achievement was followed by another historic quarter-final appearance at the 12-team Olympic basketball tournament in France, further establishing D’Tigress among the elite teams in international women’s basketball.
Meanwhile, former D’Tigress and WNBA stars Mfon Udoka and Mactabene Amachree have also sent solidarity messages to the team, wishing the players success in Berlin.
Udoka and Amachree were key members of Nigeria’s 2003 and 2005 African Championship-winning teams and later played important roles in rebuilding the national team that reclaimed continental supremacy in 2017.
In 2017, Udoka served as General Manager, while Amachree worked as Player Development Manager as D’Tigress began a new era under coach Sam Vincent.
Coach Otis Hughley subsequently guided the team through the 2018 World Cup, the 2019 Afrobasket and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games before Rena Wakama took charge in 2023 and continued the team’s winning tradition.
With experienced players such as Ezinne Kalu and Promise Amukamara, who have been part of the national setup since the 2016 Olympic qualifying tournament in Nantes, alongside Amy Okonkwo, Elizabeth Balogun, Victoria Macaulay and Murjanatu Musa, D’Tigress head into the Berlin showdown with confidence and considerable international experience.
As Nigeria begins another quest for global glory, Ahmedu, Udoka and Amachree have urged the players to embrace the moment, draw strength from the achievements of those who came before them and once again make Nigerians and Africans proud.
