Reactions continued to pour in on the classic victory of D’Tigress’ as Star player in the historic 75-62 success against Australia, Ezinne Kalu says the key to their victory was their defence.
Kalu made a special return to the national team after a three-year gap to claim 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals to inspire D’Tigress to their first Olympic success in 20 years.
“Our defense was relentless. When we are on the court, we smell blood. Nobody defends quite like us and that is what keeps us going,” Kalu told FIBA website and revealed how they stoutly defended when the Aussies tried to respond in the second half.
“Australia came out in the second half with their veterans and an amazing coach who knows what she’s doing, but we kept our foot on the gas and kept on going.
“Wow, this really means a lot for our country. Coming into this competition we were ranked 12th [in the Power Rankings] and Australia I think were third or fourth.
“We made a statement that we are not going to give up and no matter what country we play, we are going to play our basketball,” said the 32 year old.
It’s not been an easy ride for Kalu and her teammates at times and she admitted that it has been getting through some adversity that has proven a driver for shaping success.
Kalu also hailed the impact of the team’s coach, Rene Wakama.
“She brought her experience and her fresh mind, she see’s something different. She sees what we don’t see in ourselves sometimes. She trusts us and we trust her. It’s good to have someone who knows the game so well and wants us to succeed so much.” she said.
Nigeria now face France and then Canada in their next Group B fixtures
