29th May, 2021
Nigeria’s senior national women basketball team, D’Tigress, on Friday defeated Puerto Rico 89-63 points in a friendly match.
The friendly match played at the Lange Munte arena in Kortrijk, Belgium was lined up by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to prepare the team for the Olympic Games.
The team which arrived in Belgium from Las Vegas in the U.S. earlier in the week showed their intention early in the game as they raced to a 13-9 lead in the first quarter.
They dominated all through 17-13, 31-16, 24-19, 17-15 to start their friendly match series on a winning note.
Amy Okonkwo who recently had a training camp stint with Dallas Wings contributed 14 points and six rebounds, with a 50 percent field goal percentage.
Fifteen minutes were all 23-year-old Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpannah needed as she dropped 14 points and three rebounds on an evening when she made five out of seven attempted shots.
Adaora Elonu dropped 14 points and 2 steals as the team closed out the game in an emphatic fashion.
With all the players in camp, except Victoria Macaulay who watched from the bench, all getting good playing time, it was a dominant performance for D’Tigress.
All the players got at least two points.
Atonye Nyingifa had 10 points, three rebounds and two assists, while Promise Amukamara scored eight points and five steals.
The team continue their preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Saturday with a game against world number eight Serbia at the same venue.