Joe
By John-Francis Alamise
In the wake of Nigeria’s historic performance at the Paris Games, Nigeria Women’s Basketball Coach Rena Wakama has emphasized the nation’s potential to challenge top-ranking countries if more investment is made in the sport back home peak news.ng reports.
Wakama speaking after the game against USA noted that this is the only way the dominance of Nigeria can be sustained.
“It’s been everything. It’s a movement, man, for Nigeria and for Africa,” said Coach Wakama. “I’ve been saying all this whole time we have so much talent. And I hope the world can see what we’re capable of doing if we invest in ourselves, invest in the youth in Africa, invest in sports—we’re capable of being at the highest level.”
Despite a valiant effort, Nigeria fell to the United States 88-74 in the quarterfinals, extending the U.S. women’s record Olympic winning streak to 59 consecutive games. A’ja Wilson led the U.S. with 20 points, while Jackie Young contributed 15 points.
Breanna Stewart added 13 points for the Americans, who are now two victories away from an unprecedented eighth consecutive gold medal. They will face Australia in the semifinals, who defeated Serbia 85-67. In the other semifinal, host France will play Belgium.
Nigeria’s loss ended a groundbreaking journey as the first African country to reach the Olympic basketball quarterfinals. The U.S. team altered its starting lineup, with Young replacing Diana Taurasi, marking the first time Taurasi didn’t start since her first Olympics in 2004. The change paid off as the U.S. led 26-17 after the first quarter.
Nigeria stayed competitive, closing the gap to 31-27 before Wilson, Young, and Kelsey Plum led a 21-6 run to end the half with a 52-33 lead. The U.S. continued their dominance in the third quarter, scoring the first 10 points to secure their victory.
Promise Amukamara scored 19 points to lead Nigeria, followed by Amy Okonkwo with 17 and Ezinne Kalu with 16. The game attracted notable Olympians, including LeBron James, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Michael Phelps, and Katie Ledecky.
The U.S. and Nigeria have faced off in previous encounters, including the Tokyo Olympics opener in 2021 and an Olympic qualifying tournament in February, both times resulting in U.S. victories. Wilson also contributed 11 rebounds, while Brittney Griner added 11 points off the bench.
