FIBA WCQ: D'Tigress Coach Wakama Eyes Qualification Despite Defeat to Germany

Posted : 18 March 2026

D'Tigress Head Coach Rena Wakama says she has identified the areas her team must work on to be fully ready for the FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin, Germany, later this year.

Coach Wakama was reacting to her team's overall performance at the just-concluded World Cup qualification tournament in Lyon after another close defeat to Germany in their final game on Tuesday.

The African Champions finished the tournament with two wins and three narrow losses against South Korea, host France, and European giants Germany.

The team's final game on Tuesday at the Villeurbanne Sports Arena against Germany was another very even encounter, which ended 81-73 points in favour of the Germans.

Elizabeth Balogun was Nigeria's best performer with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist, while Musa Mujarnatu also had similar ratings with 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Sarah Ogoke played her final game for the team after announcing her retirement and put up a memorable performance in the Green and White for the last time.

Coach Wakama said she is proud of her team and what the Lyon tournament offered her players in preparation for the main event, the Berlin, Germany World Cup in September.

She added that though they had already qualified for the World Cup, they still had to put up a competitive performance throughout the tournament, and lessons have been learnt for the purpose of improving the team in Germany.

"We were competitive throughout the tournament and learnt together, especially with the matches we lost."

"Going to the World Cup, we have to start games better and make better decisions on the court in critical moments. So we will go back and analyse the games more and focus more on our energy."

D'Tigress star Victoria McCaulay made the All-Star top five at the Lyon qualifying tournament alongside Janelle Salaun of France, Leeseul Kang of South Korea, Frieda Buhner of Germany, and Marine Johannes of France.

Host France finished the tournament as overall best with 10 points, followed by Germany with 9 points, while South Korea and Nigeria finished with 8 and 7 points respectively.

The 16 World Cup teams are now complete after all the qualifying tournaments were completed across the continents on Monday, and they are host Germany, African Champions Nigeria, Asian champions Australia, Americas champions the USA, and European Champions Belgium.

Others include France, Spain, South Korea, China, Italy, Mali, Czechia, Turkey, Japan, Hungary, and Puerto Rico.

D'Tigress have secured their place at the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup in Berlin despite a narrow 81-73 loss to Germany in their final qualifier. Coach Wakama has acknowledged the areas that need improvement ahead of the main tournament in September.

With key performances from Balogun and McCaulay's All-Star recognition, Nigeria will be looking to sharpen their game before the global stage.

FIBA WCQ: D'Tigress Coach Wakama Eyes Qualification Despite Defeat to Germany

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