Head coach of Nigeria’s women’s national basketball team, Rena Wakama, has attributed her team’s difficulties at the ongoing FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualification tournament in France to limited preparation time.

 

According to Wakama, Nigeria women’s national basketball team had only two days of preparation before the start of the competition, which she described as the team’s biggest challenge.

 

Her comments followed Nigeria’s second defeat of the tournament on Sunday, when they lost 93–86 to the host nation, France women’s national basketball team. Despite the setback, D’Tigress still have one group match remaining in the competition.

 

While some critics have blamed fatigue for the team’s performance, Wakama insisted that more time together in camp would have helped the squad perform better.

 

“Of all the teams here, we only had two days of preparation before playing. Some of my players are not in season right now, so it takes time to regain rhythm and reconnect with teammates,” she explained.

 

D’Tigress struggled to find rhythm throughout the contest, similar to their earlier loss to South Korea women’s national basketball team. France dominated the opening stages, winning the first quarter 29–21 and the second 28–24 to take a 57–45 lead into halftime.

 

Nigeria responded strongly in the third quarter, winning it 21–15, but the hosts regained control in the final quarter, edging it 21–20 to seal the victory.

 

France, currently ranked third in the world, displayed greater coordination and efficiency, outperforming the eighth-ranked Nigerians in shooting accuracy, rebounds, blocks and assists.

 

Despite the loss, Wakama praised her players for their resilience and fighting spirit, stressing that leadership must also come from within the team.

 

“Those teams are hard to defend when they’re driving past you and knocking down threes. Credit to my team for sticking with it. Leadership shouldn’t always come from the coaches; it has to come from within,” she said.

 

Wakama also described the defeats as valuable lessons ahead of the main FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup scheduled for later this year.

 

“That’s what happens when you face respectable teams. It’s another lesson for us, a little bit of growing pains. But it takes a lot of resilience and poise to fight back the way we did, so huge credit to my team,” she added.

 

Following the latest results, France lead the group table with eight points from four wins, while Germany women’s national basketball team sit second with seven points from three wins and one defeat. South Korea occupy third place on seven points, while Nigeria drop to fourth with six points from two wins and two losses.

 

D’Tigress will now aim to finish on a positive note when they face Germany in their final group match on Tuesday.