By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Rena Wakama was born in Raleigh, North Carolina to Johnson Wakama and Rosana Oba whom are natives of Okrika, Rivers State, Nigeria. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation from the Western Carolina University, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Manhattan College.
As a player
While she was at WCU, she played for the Western Carolina Catamounts for four years. Immediately she left college, she joined the D’Tigress where she played for the team at the 2015 Women’s Afrobasket tournament in Cameroon where Nigeria finished third.[9] She also represented Nigeria’s First Bank at the FIBA Africa Champions Cup for Women during her career as a player.
As a coach
For her first two years at Manhattan College, she served as the director of women’s basketball operations, she became an assistant coach in her third year where she kept on developing talents while serving as the team’s academics and community service liaison.
In 2023, she became the first female Head Coach of D’Tigress., and became the first Nigerian National Female Basketball Team coach to win the competition since it began in 1966.
Rena Wakama was appointed coach of the Nigeria Women’s Basketball Team, D’Tigress in June 2023.
In less than 2 months (1 month and 6 days precisely) afterwards, Coach Rena led Nigeria to win the 2023 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket championship, beating Senegal 84-74 in a thrilling encounter to emerge champions of Africa for the fourth consecutive time.
The victory means Nigeria became only the second team ever after Senegal to win four consecutive titles.
Rena-led D’Tigress have just defeated Australia, the THIRD BEST TEAM in the world (ranked no. 3) in their first group game at the ongoing Olympics.
Australia are 3 times Olympics silver medalists, 2 times Bronze medalists and won the FIBA world cup in 2006, finished as runners up in 2018, third place in 1998, 2002, 2014, and 2022.