During the holiday season, it’s always great to hear about stories like this. Victor Oladipo, who won the NBA 2017-2018 Most Improved Player award last season, surprised a fan Renita Hills by donating the car that he won to her. Well-done Victor!
Women’s 2019 World Cup Group Draw Announced
Over the weekend, FIFA announced the grouping for the upcoming 2019 Women’s World Cup. The Nigeria Falcons are in Group A with France, Korea, & Norway. Group A is already being considered by some to be the Group of Death, The World Cup will take place in France beginning on June 7th. Nigeria, who are ranked 39th in latest FIFA ranking, is one of three African nations in the tournament. Now that we know who we will competing against in the group phase, it’s time to get back to basics in order to the shock the world again.
SIMI ADEAGBO LOOKING FORWARD TOWARDS 2022
In preparation, for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Simi Adeagbo has her sights getting a medal in Skeleton this time around. Simi explains her current mindset in this new feature article on ESPN
Continue readingFalcons Win 9th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Title
The Lady Falcons defeated South Africa in the 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (AWCON) that took place in Ghana. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) organized the event. After both teams went scoreless in regulation, Nigeria defeated South Africa in penalty kicks (4-3). Check out the highlights below:
Nigeria had several players make the all tournament team including Tochukwu Oluehi (Goalkeeper) and Onome Ebi (Defender). This win marks the Falcons 9th win at the AWCON (1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, & now 2018).
Next up for the Nigeria is to find out their bid for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. The drawing will take place on December 8th in Paris and we will provide an update on the Falcons grouping for the upcoming tournament.
Ifunanya Ibekwe’s Jersey Retired
On November 23rd, Ifunanya ‘Ify’ Ibekwe was inducted into the University of Arizona Women Basketball Ring of Honor. Ify played for the Wildcats from 2007 through 2011 where she had a great career. She was the last Wildcat to receive AP All-American honors (08-09, 10-11). Ibekwe was First-Team All-Pac-10 during her sophomore, junior, & senior seasons. Finally, Ibekwe won Defensive Player of Year during her final two seasons for the Wildcats. Ify still holds Arizona Wildcats records for most career rebounds (1,194), rebounds in a single season (352), most rebounds in a single game (22 vs ASU on 2/13/11), and career double-doubles (55) amongst others. It is evident that Ify was a defensive & rebounding prowess during her time at Arizona. But she is also the fourth all time leading scorer (1,653 points) in Arizona’s history as well. After a great college career, the Seattle Storm drafted Ibekwe in the 1st Rd of 2011 WNBA Draft. Ify’s jersey will be retired in the McKale Memorial Center forever. Congrats to Ify on receiving an amazing honor.
Okogie Dunk of the Night
Minnesota Timberwolves rookie guard Josh Okogie dunks all over the San Antonio Spurs on this play.
Okogie finished 12 points (3/4 from three point), 2 rebounds, & 2 assists. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more highlights like in the future from him.
Nigerian Bobsled & Skeleton Federation T-Shirts Released
The Nigerian Bobsled & Skeleton Federation are now selling t-shirts on their website. There are two different designed t-shirts both for men and women to buy.
I like the simple design and excited to see what else gear they release in the future. I encourage everyone to buy their gear because it shows brands the spending power of the Nigerian community (i.e. Nike’s Super Eagles collection).
Here’s the link: https://bsfnigeria.com/product/bsf-female-t-shirt-1/
Giannis Off to A Fast Start To The Season
Gary Dineen/Milwaukee Bucks
We all thought that this season could be the breakthrough season where Giannis Antetokounmpo won his first MVP award. With only two week into the 2018 – 2019 NBA season, Giannis is proving many of us correct. Giannis has lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a record of 6 – 0 while averaging 25 PPG, 14.2 RPG, 5.6 APG, and 1.7 BPG. This six game winning streak even includes a triple double performance by Giannis versus the Minnesota Timberwolves (highlights below). It’s only two weeks into the season, but you can definitely see the confidence in his game. We haven’t seen the improved three point shot that we worked on over the offseason, but that will sure come soon. I have no doubt that Giannis will continue this early level of success throughout the entire season.
The Milwaukee Bucks face a huge challenge tonight when they square off against the Toronto Raptors led by another early MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard. It will be the battle of the undefeated teams, let’s see if Giannis can continue his hot start.
Nigeria Run Comes To End at the FIBA World Cup
In the Quarterfinals matchup yesterday, the USA defeated Nigeria 71-40. Nigeria led after the first quarter 17-9, but the D’Tigress couldn’t withstand the star power on the dominant Team USA squad. Ezinne Josephine Kalue was the top performer for the D’Tigress with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, & 5 steals. Nneka Ogwumike had 6 points and 3 rebounds for Team USA.
Despite the loss, this team has nothing to be ashamed of. They made history during this tournament and showed the world that Nigeria basketball (men & women) is here to stay for a long time. During this tournament Nigeria became the first African country to have three victories in a World Cup and the first African country to reach the World Cup Quarterfinals (for women African teams). The D’Tigress are just getting started.
Nneka Ogwumike Is Excited About Upcoming Nigeria vs USA Matchup
On Friday, the Nigeria will face the USA in the Quarterfinals of the 2018 FIBA Women Basketball World Cup. For Nneka Ogwumike this will be a bittersweet game. Nneka is Nigerian, but she is playing for Team USA in this tournament. Here is her tweet about the game below:
I love how Nneka & her sister Chiney continue to embrace their Nigerian culture and are great role models young girls growing up. As Nneka stated this game shows everyone how much the game of basketball has grown in Nigeria. There’s so much talent in Nigeria and this will only be the beginning to matchups between Nigeria and the USA. Although, I want to see Nneka do well tomorrow, I’m rooting for Nigeria to pull off the upset.
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