DEFENDING Champions, D’Tigress of Nigeria will know their quarterfinal opponents today when Cameroon takes on Angola in the playoffs round. Nigeria travel packages
The Nigerian girls booked their quarterfinal spot after securing their second straight win at the tournament with victory over Mozambique on Monday. The result got them an automatic place in the last eight as winners of Group C.
The African champions, who believe they are still not near their best form at the tournament, returned to training yesterday under Coach Rene Wakama, focusing on their shooting and defence tactics.
Ahead of tomorrow’s quarterfinals, against either Angola or Cameroon, the girls say have been further boosted with the news of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s gestures to the victorious Super Falcons, who got cash, houses and national honour for winning the African Women Cup of Nations.
Captain of the team, Amy Okonkwo, said the reception for the women’s football team from the country and government is a big motivation for them to also return home as Africa’s champions.Nigeria travel packages
“We were in the locker room after our game against Mozambique and the news filtered in on what Mr President just announced for our sisters, the Super Falcons. For us, it shows how much sports is now being taken seriously in the country from the top.
“I want to thank the President for this show of love and commitment to the country’s sports and we can also see that leadership of sports in the country, the National Sports Commission (NSC) is now prioritising the welfare of Nigerian athletes.” Nigeria travel packages
On their next game against either Cameroon or Angola, Okonkwo said any of the teams will not be a push over, adding that they are focused on raising their game as the competition enters the business end.
“Afrobasket is getting tougher and the quality of the competition is also getting better each year. So, we must be up for it because every team now wants to beat Nigeria.
“We are fully aware of this and that is why we are not losing sight of the mission and the challenges that we will face to get there”.
Host country Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Uganda and defending champions Nigeria are the four top teams with automatic tickets in the quarterfinals of this year’s Afrobasket.
