The Nigerian national female basketball team, D’Tigeress are tuning up in Atlanta, Georgia, where they are camped ahead of the 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Spain.
The team traveled to Atlanta on July 18, after head coach Sam Vincent announced a 28-player preliminary squad comprising stars drawn from US Colleges and in some European leagues.
Over the weekend, the Women’s AfroBasket champions lost against Atlanta Monarchs 58-77, in what was their second friendly after the first encounter ended 54-63 in Yellow Jacket Pro’s favour.
Assistant Coach Peter Ahmedu remains upbeat and happy despite the loss that the team is involved with such a preparation ahead of the world Cup, insisting the defeat will help right the team’s wrongs.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Even though we lost, it was great friendly game, this has actually showed us that there is much to be done in the team. We hope that when we return, we shall be making corrections to be able to do better next time,”[/perfectpullquote]
Ahmedu said during an interview with Titans Basket.
According to a tweet on the official Twitter account of the D’Tigress, there will be a rematch on August 5, 2018, at the Riverside Epicenter in Georgia.
After the first phase of training on USA soil, the West African outfit will return to Abuja to put the final touches to their camp before jetting out to Turkey for the remainder of their World Cup preparations, according to the Nigeria Basketball Federation.
This year’s edition will mark the D’Tigress return to the World Cup since the last appearance in 2006.
The Women’s Afrobasket champions will travel to Tenerife, Spain along with Senegal as Africa’s only representatives at the global basketball event.
Nigeria will take on Group B opponents Australia, Turkey and Argentina, while Senegal will face Latvia, USA and China.
The 2018 FIBA Women’s World Cup runs from September 22-30, in Tenerife, Spain.
