D’Tigress’ Amy Okonkwo Reacts After Winning AfroBasket MVP

The D’Tigress forward Amy Okonkwo is thrilled to have won the 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Most Valuable Player award.

She believes that the input of the D’Tigress’ coach Rena Wakama who became the first female head coach to win a Women’s AfroBasket championship, helped her and her teammates to perform better during the tournament.

Amy Okonkwo made a key contribution to Nigeria’s victory at the 2023 edition of the tournament and led the D’Tigress to beat their major rivals Senegal 84-74 in the final on Saturday in Kigali, Rwanda.

With their victory, Nigeria became only the second team in FIBA Women’s AfroBasket history to win four straight titles.

Okonkwo was the team’s star player and made the Tournament All-Star alongside Cierra Dillard (Senegal), Jannon Otto (Uganda), Sika Kone (Mali), and Tamara Seda (Mozambique).

She emerged as the D’Tigress’ driving force during Nigeria’s unbeaten run (5-0) in the Rwandan capital Kigali, averaging a team-high 17.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. These stats earned the 26-year-old Nigerian forward the tournament’s MVP.

In her reaction to the award, Amy Okonkwo said, “We have a coach that believes in us. It has us fighting till the end, even in adversity.

“So, we knew we had our destiny in our hands. Even when Senegal came back, we knew we had to step up, to keep together and we made it happen. I was playing in Mexico this summer, and I’m thankful to have the opportunity to come and lead. And I had the opportunity to lead the team.

“I told myself that I was not coming to Kigali to lose anything. And being MVP is a huge honour.”