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Wakama Urges D’Tigress to Regroup After Historic Defeat to South Korea

Published by Samuel Ayomide on March 13th, 2026.

Head coach of Nigeria’s women’s national basketball team, Rena Wakama, has called on her players to quickly refocus after their defeat to South Korea Women’s National Basketball Team at the ongoing qualifying series for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

Nigeria’s D’Tigress suffered a 77–60 loss on Thursday, marking the first time the Nigerian senior women’s team has been beaten by the Korean side in international competition.

The encounter, played during the qualifying tournament in Lyon, saw Nigeria remain competitive in the early stages. D’Tigress trailed narrowly 36–32 at halftime after holding their ground in the first two quarters before losing momentum in the latter stages of the game.

According to reports by The Punch, Nigeria struggled with ball control and shooting efficiency as the match progressed, allowing the Korean team to widen the gap in the third and fourth quarters.

Despite the defeat, forward Victoria Macaulay delivered an impressive individual performance, scoring 22 points and securing six rebounds. Her display followed a strong outing in Nigeria’s opening game against Colombia Women’s National Basketball Team, where she earned the Most Valuable Player recognition.

Reacting to the result, Wakama said the team would treat the setback as a learning opportunity rather than dwell on the loss.

“We know Korea is a strong and organised team. Our shooting struggled, and committing 22 turnovers is not typical of how we play,” Wakama said.

She maintained that the team’s mindset remains strong and that the focus would shift toward improving performance ahead of their next game.

Reports by The Guardian Nigeria also highlighted Wakama’s acknowledgement of South Korea’s disciplined defensive tactics, noting that the Asian side applied consistent physical pressure and disrupted Nigeria’s passing rhythm.

“They defended very well and executed their strategy effectively. Credit to them for the way they played,” Wakama added.

South Korea is competing for one of the remaining tickets to the global tournament through the round-robin qualifying format.

Nigeria and Germany Women’s National Basketball Team have already secured their places at the 2026 World Cup scheduled to take place in Berlin. Both teams are participating in the qualifiers mainly as part of their preparations for the championship.

The qualifying series is being hosted simultaneously across four locations which includes France, Turkey, Puerto Rico, and China, with teams battling for the remaining spots at the global competition.

D’Tigress will now shift attention to their next fixture against the Philippines Women’s National Basketball Team on Saturday before concluding their qualifying games against France and Germany.

Analysts say the upcoming matches will provide the Nigerian side with valuable preparation as they build momentum ahead of the World Cup tournament later in the year.