Izuchukwu OkosiNigeria’s D’Tigress on Saturday evening beat Senegal 83-74 in the 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Final at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda to win the tournament for the fourth consecutive time.
D’Tigress reached the final after defeating hosts Rwanda in the semifinal to set up the clash against Senegal who overcame Mali in the second semifinals match.
The Nigerian girls were formidable for the impressive Senegal side to contend with as they claimed a sixth overall title on the continent.
D’Tigress led by coach Rena Wakama were winners in 2003, 2005, 2017, 2019, and 2021, establishing them as one of the most decorated teams in the tournament’s history.
By beating all comers in the tournament, Nigeria etched another milestone by becoming the first team to have a female coach lead them to victory in the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket.
The tournament was a memorable and historic one for Nigeria adding to the rich tapestry of women’s basketball in Africa despite the challenges that the team enroute to their trip to Kigali, Rwanda.
There were some high profile withdrawals from the Nigerian team as the Ogwumike sisters, Chiney and Nneka – and a few other notable stars – expressed dismay over the administration of the sport in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) could reach out to the players who pulled out of the tournament after the latest success.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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