The National Sports Commission (NSC) has urged the national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, to go all out and defend their title at the upcoming FIBA AfroBasket Championship in Cote d’Ivoire.

The continental basketball championship holds in Abidjan between July 25th and August 3rd and the D’Tigress head into the tournament as the defending champions having defeated Senegal 84–74 in the 2023 final in Kigali, Rwanda. They were also champions in 2017, 2019 and 2021 when they beat Mali in the final asserting their dominance on the continent over the past decade.

Ahead of their departure to Abidjan, the D’Tigress paid a courtesy visit to the National Sports Commission (NSC) where they were received and celebrated for their consistency and excellence on the African stage.

Chairman of the NSC, Mallam Shehu Dikko stated thus: “D’Tigress have made Nigeria proud on numerous occasions, and we remain firmly behind them. Winning four straight Afrobasket titles is no small feat, and the entire nation is rooting for you to make it five. You are not just champions, you are role models to a lot of young girls in Africa.”

Underscoring the Commission’s commitment to the welfare of Nigerian athletes, Dikko went ahead to ask the team to table their immediate needs as they get set to jet out for their title defence. The Commission wasted no time in approving the requests presented by the players,

Similarly, the Director General of the NSC, Honourable Bukola Olopade, assured the team of the nation’s full support in the defence of their crown in Abidjan.

“What D’Tigress have achieved is not just about the titles they’ve won, it’s also about building a legacy for themselves that speaks to courage, preparation, and unity,” Olopade said.

“This team has turned pressure into purpose and shown that Nigerian excellence is no fluke. The NSC will continue to match their ambition with the right support, because they’ve earned more than applause.”

Present at the event were stakeholders in the Nigerian sports ecosystem including the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports, Adeboye Adeyinka Anthony; Director General of the National Institute of Sports, Rt. Hon. Phillip Shuaibu; President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Engr. Habu Gumel; head of Elite Athlete Development and Podium Board, Yusuf Alli; and the 2nd Vice President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Miss Aku Aghazu. (The Nation)