August 4, 2024
How Nigeria made more history and broke into the Olympic quarterfinals
Kalu: 'When you sleep on Africa, you wake them up.'
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France — Nigeria made history earlier in the week, becoming the first African women’s team to win a group-stage match. Sunday, it cemented its legacy even further, becoming the only African basketball team — men’s or women’s — to advance to the quarterfinals of the Olympics.
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D’Tigress, as the team is called, scored 27 points off turnovers to defeat Canada, 79-70. The team trailed at halftime, 41-37, before jumping on an 11-0 run and holding Canada off the scoreboard for six minutes. Nigeria began the group stage with a win over Australia, and the second win solidified its position in Wednesday’s quarterfinals without going to tiebreakers.
“I am so proud of the girls after how we came out in the second half, just how we regrouped,” Nigeria guard Promise Amukamara told The Next. “We didn’t want to go home, so we gave it everything we had. It feels good that we did our job early, with the win against Australia. We controlled our fate.”
Amukamara, who played at Arizona State, scored 12 points with six assists. She also recorded five of her team’s 16 steals. Many of those were returned the full length of the court for baskets. In addition, Kia Nurse, who led Canada in scoring at both the Rio and Tokyo Olympics, was permitted to 0-of-9 shooting and no points.
“We knew their plays,” Amukamara added. “We did scout two days in a row, so we knew what was coming and we were prepared. It created easy offense for us.”
Ezinne Kalu, the 32-year-old guard, led Nigeria in scoring with 21 points. Kalu was born in New Jersey to a Nigerian father and played collegiately at Savannah State.
“It means a lot,” Kalu said about reaching the quarterfinals. “Not just to our team, but to Africa. It feels really good to take all of this in and prepare for the next step. It’s only going to get harder. It just feels good to make history — again. To put the nail in the coffin and beat Canada means a lot. I have this saying, ‘When you sleep on Africa, you wake them up,’ and I think that is what we are doing.”
Kalu is the same age as her coach, Rena Wakama, who is becoming perhaps one of the tournament’s most intriguing stories. The Tulane assistant was wrapped in a towel following a postgame celebration.
“Just because we are the first does not mean we are the last,” Wakama said. “We need to put some eyes on Africa, develop the game there and trust the process. When we all come together, we are more powerful than a few.”
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Canada’s exit marks the end of an era
Following the loss, Natalie Achonwa confirmed this was her final game with the Canadian national team. At age 17, the senior national team called her up, and she played in her first of four Olympics in London in 2012. She also appeared in three World Cups and was part of the team that won the 2015 Pan-American Games in Toronto, defeating the United States.
“It’s not the way I wanted to go out on the court,” Achonwa said through tears. “But I have said this over and over. It’s never about the outcome; it’s about the journey. When I take this jersey off, I hope everyone knows that when I put it on, I did it with the utmost pride and passion. I can’t wait to see who is going to be putting it on after me, and I hope they can carry it forward.”
Belgium on to the quarterfinals
In the day’s first game, Belgium annihilated Japan, 85-58, for its first win of the 2024 Olympics. The tournament’s leading scorer, Emma Meesseman, once again paced the Cats with 30 points and nine rebounds. More than 25,000 spectators made the short journey, as Belgium finished third in Group C. The tiebreaker for third-place teams advancing to the knockout stage is points differential, and Belgium finished even, scoring and allowing exactly 228 points. It was one point better than China’s -1 point differential (228-229) to secure the advancement.
“We just wanted to win with as much points as possible,” Belgian guard Julie Vanloo said, “and we really thought it would happen. It actually synched in at the end when we were up by 30. Are we pushing or holding the ball now? We kept it in our own hands. I can’t explain to you how hard [the fans] pushed us today. I hope they could all go to Paris.”
Read more of our coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics, including stories live from France.
Written by Scott Mammoser
Scott Mammoser covered the Paris 2024 Olympics for The Next. He has also covered major international events for FIBA, World Athletics and the International Skating Union. He has attended six other Olympics and traveled to more than 90 countries.
