As Nigeria’s female basketball senior national team, D’Tigress, get set for their quarter-final game at the 2025 AfroBasket in Cote d’Ivoire, a veteran in the squad, Ezinne Kalu, has revealed the squad’s winning formula.
Sports247 gathered that the entire team is upbeat, following their victories over Rwanda and Mozambique, which propelled them closer to a successful defence of the trophy.
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As D’Tigress gun for a fifth straight title and seventh overall, Kalu, who was part of the winning squads in 2019, 2021 and 2023, disclosed that sticking together like sisters has been the biggest force propelling the team towards another trophy.
The 33-year-old Zheijing Golden Bulls of China point guard declared, “We have a target on our back, which is tough to achieve, because we are the queens of Africa.
“But, I’m happy we’ve stayed poised in adversity, and we continue to fight hard, no matter who we are playing against.”
Kalu, who was born in New Jersey, USA and emerged as the most valuable player at AfroBasket 2019, went on to admit that winning this year’s competition will not be an easy task for D’Tigress, given that they’ve won it four times in a row.
She added, “It’s not easy being champions, and AfroBasket is not easy to play in. There are so many types of issues and so many top teams to play against.”
However, after helping Nigeria with a game-high 16 points and five steals in Monday’s 60-55 victory over Mozambique, which followed a 92-45 blowout win over Rwanda in their first match, Kalu believes D’Tigress look good for the title.
“It’s about who stands together. This sisterhood sticks together inside the locker room.
“We are staying committed and staying as one. When we step on the court, we just do the real business,” Kalu disclosed.
