Wakama: D’Tigress must learn from loss to South Korea

By Victor Okoye

The Head Coach of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, Rena Wakama, has said the team must refocus and improve ahead of their next game against the Philippines at the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Lyon, France.

Wakama said this while reacting to the team’s loss to South Korea.

D’Tigress lost 77–60 to the Asian side on Thursday, the first time Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team has been defeated by South Korea.

South Korea beat Nigeria in the Group A game of the Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Villeurbanne, France.

Korea overturned a 12–16 deficit with a decisive 15–0 run late in the first quarter, forcing four turnovers and taking a 17–16 lead through Jihyun Park’s three-pointer.

That surge shifted momentum as Korea stretched the margin to double digits midway into the second quarter, combining aggressive defence with balanced scoring.

Jihyun Park led Korea with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists, shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range.

Leeseul Kang added 20 points and three assists, while Jisu Park recorded 11 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks to dominate the paint.

Victoria Macaulay scored 22 points and grabbed six rebounds for D’Tigress, but five turnovers and defensive pressure limited the team’s comeback chances.

Nigeria’s best response was a 7–0 run late in the second quarter, cutting the deficit from 34–25 to 34–32, with all seven points from Macaulay.

Korea led for 31 minutes, 35 seconds and pushed their biggest advantage to 19 points late in the fourth quarter to seal the comfortable victory.

The result strengthens Korea’s position in Group A, highlighting disciplined defence and balanced offence in their campaign at the global qualifying tournament in France.

However, Wakama said the defeat offered important lessons for D’Tigress, while commending the Korean side for their strong performance.

“Korea is a great team. We struggled with our shooting and had 22 turnovers, which is not typical of our game,” she said.

“Our mentality is strong and we will not overreact to the loss. We will learn from it and prepare better for the next game,” Wakama added.

She said the Koreans applied intense physical pressure, disrupted Nigeria’s passing lanes and effectively double-teamed key players.

“They did a great job defensively. Credit to them for the way they played,” Wakama said.

South Korea are aiming to secure one of two available World Cup tickets in the round-robin qualifying tournament.

Nigeria and Germany have already qualified for the FIBA Women’s World Cup scheduled for September in Berlin, Germany.

Both teams are participating in the qualifiers mainly as part of preparations for the global tournament.

The qualifying tournament is holding simultaneously in four countries: France, Turkey, Puerto Rico and China.

Teams are competing across the venues for the remaining slots at the FIBA Women’s World Cup.

D’Tigress will face the Philippines on Saturday before their final matches against France and Germany.

(NAN)