United States-based duo of Amy Okonkwo and Elizabeth Balogun have been cited as the stars to watch out for in Nigeria’s female basketball national team, D’Tigers at this year’s FIBA Women’s World Cup in Berlin, Germany, Sports247 reports.
Heading into the glamorous competition’s tip-off this Friday in the German capital, many pundits have outlined various permutations and forecasts, with most tipping United States of America to emerge champions, while Nigeria is ranked as the top African team.
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These permutations come hot on the heels of an official rate card issued by FIBA, which acknowledged that Nigeria dropped to 10th spot globally, but D’Tigers still retain their status as Africa’s leading squad going into this year’s world championship in Germany.
D’Tigress dropped two places to 10th in the latest FIBA Women’s World Cup Power Rankings released ahead of the tournament, as the Nigerian side were previously ranked eighth in the assessment of teams expected to make a strong challenge for the title.
The latest ranking places D’Tigress behind Italy, who moved into ninth position, while several of the world’s leading basketball nations retained their places among the top contenders, but Okonkwo and Balogun are tipped to stand out in Nigeria’s expected gallant charge.
A preview by Mitchell Northam of USA TODAY added, “The greatest women’s basketball players in the world will begin play in Berlin, Germany for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup. This year’s tournament features 16 teams, which will begin by playing in a round-robin group stage.
“Team USA enters the World Cup as the heavy favourites. The Americans have won nine of the last 12 FIBA World Cups, including four straight. The Americans, coached by Duke’s Kara Lawson, will be the only team in the tournament with a roster composed of all WNBA players.
“The player to watch for Nigeria will be Amy Okonkwo, the (returnee) WNBA forward who has twice been named MVP of FIBA AfroBasket tournament. The team also features former Duke standout Elizabeth Balogun.”
Sports247 reports that Amy Nnenna Okonkwo (born August 26th, 1996) currently plays for Portland Fire in USA’s Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), following previous stints with Maccabi Haifa, Halcones, Landerneau, Bourges, Dallas Wings and Beşiktaş.
She represented Nigeria at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she averaged 2.7 points and one rebound; after which she also participated in the 2021 Afrobasket, where she won gold, while averring 9.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists.
Okonkwo, who is D’Tigress’ official captain for the championship in Berlin, also represented Nigeria in the 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket, which was staged in Kigali, Rwanda, where she was named the most valuable player (MVP).
On her part, Balogun (born September 9th, 2000) plays for CB Bembire of Spain, after starting out in high school basketball with Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, Tennessee, where she arrived in the eighth grade from her birthplace in Lagos.
She averaged 15.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 2.1 assists, which gave her a spot in the All-USA Girls Basketball First Team at the end of high school, then started as a freshman at Georgia Tech in 2018.
Balogun left Georgia for Louisville after being named the 2018/19 Freshman of The Year, while averaging 14.64 points per game in her first season, following which she was first called up to D’Tigress at the 2019 pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Mozambique, but was not released by the university.
The 25-year-old star, who transferred to Duke in 2021, was also called up to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifiers in Belgrade as well as the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament, where she averaged 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
