D’Tigress step up World Cup preparations as Rena Wakama set to rejoin squad in Spain

Nigeria’s D’Tigress are entering the final stretch of their preparations for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, with head coach Rena Wakama expected to rejoin the team ahead of the tournament in Germany.

Wakama has remained in the United States because of her professional commitments with WNBA franchise Chicago Sky, but the Nigerian coach is expected to link up with her players before the World Cup gets underway.

The tournament is scheduled to run from 4-13 September, with D’Tigress set to move to Zaragoza, Spain, for the final phase of their preparations.

Wakama has continued to combine her responsibilities as Nigeria’s head coach with her role as an assistant coach at the Chicago Sky. The WNBA franchise confirmed her appointment to its coaching staff in April under head coach Tyler Marsh.

Nigeria began their World Cup preparations with a training camp in Chicago from 29 July to 2 August before travelling to China for a three-game exhibition series.

D’Tigress then moved to Spain, where they faced some of Europe’s leading basketball nations as part of their continued preparations.

The final phase of the camp in Zaragoza will feature further preparation games against Mali and Puerto Rico before Nigeria travel to Berlin for the World Cup.

D’Tigress face concerns after difficult warm-up run

The African champions have endured a challenging build-up to the tournament, winning just one of their five warm-up games so far.

Nigeria began their exhibition series in China with consecutive defeats, losing 70-67 and 69-65 before bouncing back to record an encouraging 88-77 victory on 12 August.

However, their latest outings in Tenerife exposed further concerns, with D’Tigress suffering heavy defeats against two of Europe’s strongest…