Sports minister showers encomiums on D’Tigress

Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has showered encomiums on the national women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, after they narrowly lost to the United States on Tuesday.

D’Tigress lost 81-72 to the United States in a Group B match played in Saitama. It was a brave performance from the African champions who were less than two weeks ago beaten by the US 93-62 in an exhibition game in Las Vegas.

Since losing at the Barcelona ‘92 Olympics, the US women have now gone 50 games without defeat at the Olympics. But they will be asking themselves how a Nigerian side they recently defeated by 31 points, came close to creating the greatest upset in Olympic women’s basketball history.

And the Minister was impressed by the way the African champions fought throughout the game at the Saitama Super Arena.

“I watched the game from the start to the end. Every moment,” said the Minister who was at the match venue. “I saw players who can fight and they fought.

The US led by 20 points at the end of the third quarter, using their size advantage to subdue the Nigerians.

But a fourth-quarter revival by D’Tigress saw the Nigerians reduce the deficit to five points at a stage in the contest before a late surge from the US rescued the day for the world champions.