Basketball
NBBF President Musa Kida Urges Nigerians To Rally Behind D’Tigress, Wakama Says ‘Future Is Bright’
The President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engineer Ahmad Musa Kida has called on sports lovers all across the country and in diaspora to rally round the female national team, D’Tigress, ahead of the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Sports247 reports that D’Tigress, who have lost two games already in their build-up friendlies heading into the Mundial, will tango another Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) side, Indiana Fever this Saturday in the USA.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s game in Indiana, Kida admitted that losing is a setback but stressed that D’Tigress are still going through the preparation stage, hence his charge to all Nigerians to lend their support towards the team’s progress.
The NBBF boss added that D’Tigress need more backing in their quest for global success at the FIBA Woman’s World Cup, where they are drawn in Group B – one of the competition’s toughest pools – along with France, Hungary and South Korea.
Kida, who is also the chairman of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, pointed out that D’Tigress have consistently made the country proud and urged fans to extend to basketball the same level of passion they usually give football.
“D’Tigress have continued to carry the Nigerian flag with courage, discipline, and determination on the international stage. D’Tigress have earned that respect through years of sacrifice and success.
“This is the time for Nigerians everywhere to unite behind them. The same energy and passion we give to football should also be extended to basketball. Our athletes need to know that the country believes in them.
“Support is not only about cheering when they win; it is about standing with them before the competition begins,” said Kida, whose comforting words were followed by an equaling stimulating comment by the team’s coach, Rena Wakama.
The trailblazing female basketball tactician, who is currently away from the team on duties with Chicago Sky in the WNBA, reacted philosophically after D’Tigress’ 88-79 loss to Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday and earlier defeat by Los Angeles Sparks.
While her assistant, Wani Muganguzi leads D’Tigress during the tour, Wakama is keeping in touch with the squad and took to X with her reaction to both defeats, which she insists do not refute her confidence in the team’s bright future.
With D’Tigress now set to end their tour against Indiana Fever this Saturday, Wakama expressed confidence in the team’s long-term prospects, affirming that their development remains on track and she posted: “The future is bright!!!”
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The post NBBF President Musa Kida Urges Nigerians To Rally Behind D’Tigress, Wakama Says ‘Future Is Bright’ appeared first on Sports247 Nigeria.
NLEX took the solo lead in Group A following a convincing 110-96 victory over the erstwhile perfect San Miguel to extend its unbeaten run to four in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
In a game where they showed a bit of everything, the Road Warriors went on a tear in the second chapter, inflated the lead to its biggest at 25 in the third, and then displayed solid poise in the defining chapter to put the Beermen away.
Robert Bolick connected on a four, then came Robbie Herndon with a triple not long after as that 7-0 spurt pushed their lead back to 99-84 with 6:23 to go, and that proved to be enough to restore order after their foes cut the gap to eight.
DeQuan Jones took over afterward to lead the strong closeout as they went on to become the lone team without a loss thus far as the Beermen fell to 3-1.
In what’s becoming a trend since Coach Jimmy Alapag arrived, NLEX leaned on another balanced attack that saw a five finish in double figures
Jones himself led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Deschon Winston finished with 24 points, four rebounds, and four assists as he triggered the 14-0 run in the second chapter for a 44-27 lead that set the tone for the rout.
Tony Semerad had 15 points as his long bombs helped put together the solid finish. Bolick came just short of a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists while Herndon added 13 markers to lead the bench mob.
The post NLEX hands San Miguel first loss, claims solo PBA Group A lead appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Joseph Yeo and Chris Tiu rekindled their legendary partnership as Xavier School edged the James Yap-led Hua Siong College-Iloilo, 75-72, in Game 1 of the 40 Years Division finals of the Fil-Chinese Athletic Association Inc. on Friday at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
Though no longer as quick or explosive as they were in their prime, the Powersox-AcroCity-backed Xavier stars remained deadly from beyond the arc, delivering clutch baskets down the stretch to topple the defending champions in the opener of their best-of-three title series before a sizable crowd.
The Golden Stallions now stand one win away from the championship and a measure of revenge after falling to Hua Siong in last year’s finals. They can seal the title with another victory on Monday.
Yeo turned back the clock with a game-high 30 points, highlighted by four three-pointers, to outduel fellow PBA great James Yap. He scored Xavier’s final seven points, including a crucial triple that stretched the lead to 71-66 late in the contest.
Yap answered with 18 points, knocking down two booming three-pointers, but his efforts were not enough as the Lamtex Pipes-backed Hua Siong absorbed its first loss after sweeping all eight elimination-round games. Hua Siong had also cruised past GT Radial-Grace Christian College, 108-74, in the semifinals.
Tiu also played a key role in the victory, finishing with 17 points while sinking two of Xavier’s 13 three-pointers. Hua Siong, meanwhile, connected on nine triples.
In the battle for third place, Grace Christian College rolled past SCAG-St. Stephen’s, 60-40, behind Allan Anson Tan’s 20-point performance to finish third in the nine-team tournament.
With Yap struggling to find his rhythm late, Ken Bono tried to keep Hua Siong within striking distance, but Xavier would not be denied.
The league is backed by Smart Sports, Tanduay Athletics, Genius Hardware, Ultraforce Tires, Cellboy, PGFlex Linoleum, Boysen, Lamtex Pipes, Jiang Nan, Hangry Pares, Powerhouse Tools, L.F. Fireworks, BYD Valenzuela, BAIC, Jetour, Yong Kee Roasting House, 1118 Autospa, and TCL.
The post Xavier moves one win away from Fil-Chi crown behind Joseph Yeo, Chris Tiu appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
Ramon Cao asserted himself in the endgame to help Macau complete a 132-126 comeback win over Titan Ultra to break through in the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup, Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The reliable big man finished with 27 points and 13 rebounds as he basically took it upon himself to bring the Giant Risers home after seeing themselves staring at a 120-119 deficit with 1:52 remaining.
He scored seven straight to give themselves the 126-120 lead with 31.1 seconds left, which were enough to put them ahead permanently while the opposition could only try to answer back but to no avail
De’Vondre Perry helped him out to keep their foes at bay before Cao applied the final blow with a cleanup from point-blank as the former Bay Area Dragons forward produced 11 of Macau’s last 13 points of the bout.
With this, the guest team improved to 1-4 while sending Titan crashing back to earth after beating TNT previously.
The post PBA: Ramon Cao powers Macau’s stunning comeback to first win at Titan’s expense appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.
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