Rena Wakama, the head coach of Nigeria’s D’Tigress basketball team, has asked her players to immediately move on from their loss to South Korea.
D’Tigress fell 77-60 to the Asian side on Thursday, marking the first time Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team has been defeated by South Korea.
Nigeria kept the contest close in the first two quarters, trailing narrowly 36–32, but failed to maintain momentum in the third and fourth quarters as the game slipped away.
Victoria Macaulay led Nigeria’s effort, scoring 22 points and grabbing six rebounds after her Most Valuable Player performance in the opening game against Colombia.
Wakama stated that 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.
She noted that the defeat offered important lessons, 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 noted that 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 hopes to secure one of the two remaining World Cup spots in the round-robin qualification competition.
Nigeria and Germany have already qualified for the FIBA Women’s World Cup in September, which will be held in Berlin, Germany.
Both teams are participating in the qualifiers to prepare for the world event.
The qualification event is taking place simultaneously in four countries: France, Turkey, Puerto Rico, and China.
Teams are fighting across locations for the remaining spots in the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
D’Tigress will meet the Philippines on Saturday, followed by matches against France and Germany.
