PARIS (France) - It was the most impactful performance by an African team in history at the Olympic Basketball Tournaments and one of the main drivers of Nigeria's unprecedented success was the leadership of playcaller Rena Wakama.
Just 32-years-old, Wakama has been deservedly crowned Best Coach after guiding D'Tigress to an array of historical achievements in Paris. Nigeria made everyone sit up and take notice by beating Australia on opening day and that was the first time they had won a Group phase game. A few days later and Nigeria stunned Canada to become the first African team to take two wins at the Games, once again their tenacious defense providing the platform for success. Even more impressive, this secured them a ticket to the knockout phase and they became the first African team in history, men or women, to play in the Olympic Quarter-Finals. Their campaign eventually came to a close when they were beaten by USA, but even then they showed their fighting spirit and qualities until the very end.
FIBA