Nigeria: FIBA Women's AfroBasket 2025 Team Profile

No team in the world has ever won five consecutive continental titles and also gone unbeaten in the particular number of games the team had gone in the last two decades and that is what the Nigerian senior women’s national team, the D’Tigress will be looking to achieve in the next few days when hostilities begin inside the Palais des Sports Treichville in Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire from July 26 to August 3, 2025 with the West African country hosting the tournament for the very first time.

The last time the Nigerian team failed to win the AfroBasket was in 2015 when Cameroon hosted and the team went on to finish in third place. The narrative has since changed since the team went on to win the next edition two years later in Mali and have repeated the same brilliant feat in 2019 when Senegal hosted, 2021 in Cameroon, and the 2023 tournament in Rwanda, making it four in a row.

For the Nigerian team, it wasn’t just about the championship titles, it was the flawless path to recording these feats as the team have gone on to win the last four editions undefeated, registering a record 23-0 in the process. As a matter of fact, a team that hasn't tasted defeat on the continent for a decade and continues to make waves on the global stage deserves to be closely looked at by other teams who are looking to halt their dominance.

In their bid to set a brilliant record of winning five titles in a row, Nigeria will have to ward off familiar opponents Mozambique and Rwanda, with the East Africans who finished in the top 4 on home soil two years ago looking to upset the 11th and 32nd world-ranked teams respectively in Group C.

As far as preparations are concerned for this edition with the team bidding to defend their title and also qualify for the World Cup, the NBBF are still seeking a financial intervention to ensure logistics are up to par as regards training programs.

After being inactive since their outing at the last Olympics in Paris last year, Nigeria's senior women's national team only began their preparations for the 2025 edition a few weeks ago when the country’s federation released a 20-player preliminary roster and they are expected to work with the 2023 Afrobasket winner and the Best Coach at the last Olympics Coach Rena Wakama with an official confirmation still being expected if she will be available for the role since she is currently engaged with WNBA side Chicago Sky.

As it’s been the norm lately especially in the past few years where there has been no formidable local league, the Nigerian team is made up of a strong foreign-based contingent with so many familiar faces from the last Afrobasket included in the roster.

2023 Afrobasket Women MVP and France-based Amy Okonkwo leads the charge for a fifth consecutive title and a seventh overall. The national team captain posted 11 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 per game for DTigress at the Olympics Basketball event in 2024. The player who was practically the heart and soul of Nigeria in Kigali back in 2023 averaged a team-high of 17.2 points and contributed 8.2 rebounds per game. She was also the only Nigerian to register two double-doubles.

Ezinne Kalu also returns to the Afrobasket scene after a good season in China's WCBA. The 33-year old experienced playmaker who made a return to the team for the Olympics in 2024 and helped record a win over the Opals of Australia with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals on the day is a veteran to watch out for in Abidjan.

Also back for another Afrobasket action is Promise Amukamara while Murjanatu Musa’s availability is still doubtful. Despite the high influx of new players in the preliminary squad, the coach will be banking on the tournament experience of seven members of the squad who were part of the winning team two years ago. Whoever makes it to the final 12, the objective for the team solely remains to continue its continental dominance.

It is left to be seen how Nigeria hopes to navigate past the rising quality of opponents on the continent in this edition. The team is expected to play warmup games against Togo and Kenya in what has been dubbed as “homecoming” by the federation and the organizers of the event which is expected to run from July 18-20, 2025 in Abuja before they depart for Abidjan.

The tournament is designed to serve as a key preparatory event for D’Tigress and the games against Kenya and Togo offers an opportunity for some level of competition that will enhance the team’s readiness.

Will Abidjan, the home of FIBA on the continent, be a good hunting ground for DTigress? It’s only a matter of time.

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See Full 20-player Preliminary Roster Below:

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Amy Okonkwo

Promise Amukamara

Ezinne Kalu

Ifunaya Okoro

Elizabeth Balogun

Grace Efosa

Solape Amusan

Abiodun Damilola Yusuf

Adenike Olawuyi Olayemi

Nicole Enabosi

Pallas Kunayi

Murjanatu Musa

Gift Uchenna

Victoria Macaulay

Christabel O. Ezumah

Izoje Uche

Lauren Ebo

Ugonne Onyiah

Vera Ojenuwa

Blessing Ejiofor

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(Photo Credit; FIBA Media)

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