AJAYI UNFAZED BY FAVORITES AHEAD OF WORLD CHAMPS
Thanks to his performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he made…
How Opals were defeated by D’Tigress – Okonkwo
The eight-ranked African team defeated the third-best team in the world at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium, capping a 20-year Olympic losing streak. "It feels so good," Okonkwo remarked following the well-known victory. In the face of hardship, we remained united and supported one another. It ultimately boils down to this: you fight. Australia's Alanna Smith, a forward, responded by saying that the squad wasted too many opportunities. We were not prepared to step up to the toughness of the game, and we handed the ball over far too frequently. But the key to winning was turning the ball over. Returned point guard Ezinne Kalu, the 2023 Afrobasket MVP, Amy Okonkwo, the team captain, Elizabeth Balogun, Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah, and Promise Amukamara were all starting by D'Tigress head coach Rena Wakama. Kalu, who has previously excelled at the greatest tournaments like Tokyo 2020 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2018, showed her class by bringing her A-game and finishing with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists. D'Tigress was ranked as the bottom squad in Paris going into the event, making them the underdog. Despite having a challenging path in the Olympics, the Africans produced a passionate effort, with Nigeria ranking 12th among the competing teams. Australia dropped the ball a staggering 26 times in the game, which allowed Nigeria to score a massive 26 points off turnovers.…