Coach Otis Hughley and Promise Amukamara cannot hide their excitement after D’Tigress became the first African team to secure a place at the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Australia later in the year.
Hughley said the girls gave their all especially in the final group match against Mali having lost to China and recording a historic win over France.
“I think fatigue set in and only having one point guard made it tough against a team in survival mode,” Hughley told FIBA.com after the closed 73-69 win over Mali on Sunday.
“But seriously, hats off to Mali and their undying effort. Credit to their coach who did such an amazing job and Mali almost flipped the script.”
“But our girls took the punch and we’re off to Sydney – we’re just happy about that,” he added.
Amukamara who had 10 points and eight assists, was equally excited.
“This tournament was very special for us. We battled through a lot of adversity. I had to step up and take on the point guard and leader role. I am not very vocal, so that was a challenge for me,” the playmaker said. “I think this tournament was the best one for us, because we had to put absolutely everything together with no training camp or preparation. We really believed in ourselves.”
She continued: “Now we just have to get back healthy and the sky is the limit. We have already shocked a lot of the world. We won’t be just turning up (in Sydney), we will have a different mind-set and will be reaching for the Quarter-Finals.”
D’Tigress join host nation- Australia, Serbia, France, China, and Korea in advancing to Sydney via the Serbian capital, while Mali reflect on an opportunity lost to make history and reach the main event for the first time.