Two very similar but remarkable things happened in Nigerian basketball over the course of the past year.
In August 2017, the women's national team went a perfect 8-0 at the FIBA Women's AfroBasket tournament to annex the African title and claim a place at this year's FIBA Women's World Cup in Tenerife, Spain.
They were joined this week by the men, who have also qualified for the World Cup. Incidentally, D'Tigers -- like D'Tigress -- did so on the back of another perfect 8-0 record after blowing out Central African Republic 114-69. More impressively, they did it with one round of qualifiers -- due in February -- to spare.
One match later, they extended that streak to 9-0 by topping rivals Senegal 89-61. It is the first time since 2006 that D'Tigers have qualified for the World Cup, and the excitement levels naturally went through the roof
"Everybody is excited because nobody on this team has made it to the World Cup before," Nigeria captain Ike Diogu said.
There is also some symmetry there with the women, whose last outing at the World Cup -- it was also their first - was in 2006, same as the men.
Diogu says the desire to succeed drove the team
"When this group comes together, especially here in Nigeria, losing is not an option," he said.
"We wanted to come here and send a message. We feel we are one of the better teams in Africa. We just came here and tried to dominate."
The women carry the same spirit, said guard Upe Atosu.
"There is nothing impossible if we put our hearts to it," Atosu said.
"Going into the FIBA Women's AfroBasket, we were not favourites but we went there and did what we had to do even when we played the most difficult match of the tournament against the hosts. The team can do the unthinkable and go very far at the World Cup."
Clearly, pulling together in one direction has taken the two Nigeria teams from the depths of desolation to gathering with the world's top national sides.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of goings on at the top.
Since mid-2017, the administration of Nigeria basketball has been enmeshed in a bitter crisis of leadership. Two factions, one led by Musa Kida, the other by Tijani Umar have held the country's second-favourite team sport, after football, by the short and curlies.
World governing body FIBA failed to resolve the issue, declaring after more than six months of pussyfooting that the elections of both factions had irregularities.
The federation since has been involved in a process of drafting a constitution under which fresh elections will be conducted, with all stakeholders expected to be involved and represented.
In the meantime, FIBA are communicating with the faction led by Kida, which has been running the national teams. However, Nigeria's top-league basketball has been stuck in stasis since the beginning of the crisis, and that state of suspended animation seems unlikely to be broken until clarity comes to the situation.
That is where the administrators need to take a page out of the players' playbook. The youngsters have shown what can be accomplished when the whole team is focused on one goal and works together to make it happen.
These players come from different parts of the country. Some were not born in Nigeria, and others have spent the better part of their lives outside Nigeria, raised in different cultures and playing different styles of basketball.
But when they pull on the green-and-white shirt of Nigeria, they become one for the good of Nigerian basketball.
It is time that Kida and Tijani -- and those working with them -- realize that Nigerian basketball is bigger than all of them, as individuals and teams.
If they want role models, they have only to look at the players they want to lead.