Sports minister, Barister Solomon Dalung has heaped an avalanche of applause on Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), for the role the body played in ensuring that the nation’s female team, D’Tigress excelled at this year’s FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Dalung reckoned that the NBBF, which is currently fictionalized, should be applauded for proving adequate preparations, technical support and emoluments to boost D’Tigress’ targets in Tenerife, Spain.
The team eventually became the first African side to reach the quarter finals, with two victories to show along the way, which was also previously unprecedented.
Dalung said all this was achieved because the players all displayed a high sense of patriotism, determination and hard work during their matches at the competition.
The sports minister also thanked the players and their technical crew for what he called dedication and resilience in the face of stiff opposition.
He said: “On behalf of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari, I congratulate you on your excellent outing in Spain. You have shown that you’re now a strong force in basketball not only in Africa but now globally.
“The players and technical crew showed an unprecedented level of dedication and never say die spirit during their crucial matches against Turkey, Greece and Argentina.
“You have emerged the first African team to play in the World Cup quarterfinals and its something you should be proud of. Your ranking has also catapulted from 34th to eighth.
“I want to commend the leadership of the Nigeria Basketball Federation led by Engineer Musa Kida for their investment of time and resources in the team which yielded this unprecedented result in basketball.
“This has shown that our insistence that stakeholders be allowed to run their game was not to witch hunt anyone but to ensure that Stakeholders own their game.”
