Nigeria’s D’Tigress are hoping they can qualify for the final of the 2017 FIBA Women Afrobasket Championship taking place in Bamako, Mali, but first they want to successfully navigate their semi-final match today.
D’Tigress will be coming up against the host country Mali later on Saturday evening and would be looking to continue with their 100 percent record so far in the tournament, as they are yet to lose a game.
Having beaten Ivory Coast by 98-43 points on Friday, it set up a rematch with Mali whom they lost the GOLD medal to at the 2015 All African Games in Congo Brazzaville.
D'Tigress are going to the #AfroBasketWomen2017 semifinals after a 98-43 win over Ivory Coast! pic.twitter.com/d7IhH2FQXr
— Nigeria Basketball (@NigeriaBasket) August 25, 2017
However the Nigerian ladies are brewing with confidence going into that game knowing that they recently defeated the defending champions Senegal by 58-54 points.
“It’s not easy to play against the home team on their court. I am also looking forward to playing against them because at the end of the day, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best,” said Sarah Ogoke one of the prominent members of the team.
Adding further: “Although, the number one goal is qualifying for the world cup, but by God’s grace, we will do that by taking the gold medal.”
On his part, coach Sam Vincent who has been instrumental in tutoring D’Tigress to an unbeaten run of six games is hoping there would be enough support for them when they play Mali.
“I have seen pretty big fans for Senegal, they have a large fan base here and I am sure Mali will have a large fan base too so if there is any Nigerian in Mali, hopefully, they will come out and support the team,” he said.
The match comes up today at 7:30pm (Nigerian time)
