Falcons Motivated D’Tigress, Now D’Tigers Will Also Win AfroBasket, Says Owolabi

Mountain of Fire & Miracles (MFM) of Lagos basketball club’s head coach, Ochuko Owolabi has predicted that Nigeria’s men’s team have been motivated to win this year’s AfroBasket title by the presidential largesse that the female squad, D’Tigress recently got.

Sports247 reports that each player of D’Tigress was gifted $100,000 plus a flat and Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) national award for winning the female AfroBasket on July 27th.

In reaction to the presidential largesse that the team received on their arrival back home from Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, Coach Ochuko believes it was because the female football national team, Super Eagles were heavily rewarded a week earlier for winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The MFM basketball tactician began by charging all players in D’Tigers to put up their best effort when they start the competition in Luanda, Angola, this Wednesday against Madagascar.

She averred, “No matter what NBBF does, it’s the players particularly that matter. I’m sure the males heard what was given to the female team.

“That’s why I believe we will all see what they will do. Even for the females, I believe it was what the federal government did for the Super Falcons that motivated them.”

Coach Ochuko stressed that D’Tigress rose to the occasion to win the 2025 AfroBasket in order to get their own rewards, despite poor preparation and limited training time they had before the competition.

She reasoned further, “If not for what was given to the Falcons, I don’t think D’Tigress would have won it this time. It was not an easy battle for them.

“No preparation, and how many training days did they have together before travelling out for the tournament?

“I know how many months Senegal were in camp. But, our players saw what the Falcons got, and they must have said to themselves, ‘We will kill ourselves to get our own.’

“So, they gave threir all. They played hard because they had something they were fighting for. They had something ahead of them.”

She concluded by affirming that D’Tigers would do everything possible to ensure that they win their second ever AfroBasket title; in order to get their own share of the presidential booty.

“I am sure the guys will go there and do well, because they know if they win it, Mr. President won’t give them anything less than what he gave the females. If the guys win it, they will be given the same thing,” Coach Ochuko theorised.

Sports247.ng