It was all fireworks at the Western Conference Semi final games of the 17TH Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship at the indoor sport hall of Liberty stadium Ibadan.
Don Domingo Secondary School Warri, Delta State outshined Greenland Academy from Ogun State 34-29 in a closely contested match in first semi final.
Coach of the The Ogun State addressing his wards during The Semi-final Of The 17Th Milo Basketball Championships
Speaking after the match, Head Coach of the Delta side Solomon Inegbedi said, our victory in all stages means so much to us and most especially to grassroots sports, I applaud my players and salute their courage, I also thank Nestle Plc, sponsors of the championship for assisting in the development of basketball in the country.
In second semi final played, Ilupeju Grammar School Lagos confirmed their supremacy over Government Secondary Ilorin School, Kwara State with an emphatic 41-15.
Ilupeju grammar school lagos, will take on Don Domingo Secondary School Warri Delta State, in the final game of Western Conference.
In the girl’s semi finals, Ogun State representatives, Zeal College Otta, Ogun State will play against host team, Yejide Grammar School Ibadan, in the Western Conference Final slated for Tuesday. The girls from Ogun State soared in the last quarter to defeat hard fighting Anglican High School, Ekiti State 24-22.
17TH MILO BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The head coach of Zeal College Otta, Akindele Peter said, the victory was well deserved and we are happy clinching a final ticket.
In the second semi final played, the defending champion Yejide Grammar School Ibadan walloped Wesley Girls Senior Lagos, in thrilling and sensational encounter by 38-30.
Chairman of the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, High Chief Emeka Inyama has blasted a report in a section of the press loaded with unhealthy insinuations concerning the Federation’s recent kit sponsorship contract with American sportswear giants, NIKE.
“For all the efforts that the present NFF administration has been making with regards to securing corporate partners to help the development of Nigeria football, we expect support from all sections of the media.
“There has been support from large sections and we are grateful for that. But it is unfortunate that a minor section has been reporting negatively about our recent agreement with NIKE.”
Inyama insisted that global best practice was followed in all processes leading to the consummation of the agreement.
“First and foremost, it is not a five-year contract; it is a three-and-half year contract. There was no underhand dealing in the contract because NIKE is a super brand and would not even do that, and the present NFF top hierarchy will never be part of such.
“We must also ask a pertinent question: How come Adidas pulled out despite the fact that we won the FIFA U-17 World Cup (2013), Africa Cup of Nations (2013), African Youth Championship (2011), African Women Championship (2010), reached the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup and qualified for all FIFA competitions, including performing creditably in those competitions? This is food for thought.
Inyama added that after Adidas went out the door, some other global brands were approached but showed no interest in partnering with Nigeria football.
“Puma and Under Armour are some of the brands that did not show interest. NIKE was reluctant as well, and don’t forget that we were also negotiating from the weak position of a Federation whose flagship team had failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.
“NIKE was reluctant but after investigating thoroughly the calibre of people running the Federation presently, they consented and said these are people they trust and could do business with.”
The ranking member of the NFF Executive Committee also disclosed that Nigeria had got to a point of buying jerseys for the various National Teams.
“The President and Chairman of Marketing Committee should be commended for the efforts they made to get NIKE, which has saved the country up to $3 million in purchase of jerseys for the National Teams to take part in matches and competitions.
“It is also a white lie to say that there is no fee in the contract. There are bonuses and products, and payments that are open to negotiation when our teams do well at international tournaments. At the appropriate time, we will publish the contract agreement for all to see.”
A marathon program was held on the third competition day of the AIBA Women’s Junior/Youth World Boxing Championships Taipei 2015, with 54 contests taking place at the Xinzhuang Stadium.
On a day of many surprise results, the winners of each match advanced through to the quarter-finals, where they are only one step away from achieving a guaranteed bronze medal in Taipei.
Bout of the day
England’s EUBC European Women’s Junior Continental Champion Ebonie Jones has won every bout she has competed in since September 2013, and her undefeated streak continued with her second win of the Championships.
Her opponent on Day 3 was Russia’s EUBC European Women’s Youth Continental Champion Geliusa Galiyeva, who arrived in Taipei as a gold medal contender with her own winning record lasting since November 2013.
Due to the phenomenal recent success of both boxers, this was a highly anticipated match, and Jones began with powerful attacks and great speed.
Galiyeva rallied well in round two, but Jones resumed her momentum in the third frame, and ultimately claimed one of the biggest wins of her career.
AIBA Women’s Junior-Youth World Boxing Championships Taipei 2015
Team of the day
Host nation Chinese Taipei lost all of their contests on the first two competition days, but delighted the home crowd by improving their performance on Day 3.
The experienced Lo Chin Ting secured their opening victory with a wonderful result over 2013 AIBA Women’s Junior World Boxing Championships bronze medalist Roberta Bonatti, before 18-year-old Flyweight class (51 kg) Huang Hsiao Wen used her height advantage superbly against Mongolia’s Erdenebat Nyamsuren to earn a valuable win.
Huang also displayed her power in front of an appreciative local crowd as she knocked her Mongolian opponent three times, before the referee stopped the match before the final bell.
Surprises of the day
Switzerland’s Eliana Pileggi delivered the first major surprise of Day 3, as the 16-year-old Pinweight (46 kg) fighter eliminated China’s Junior National Champion Zhang Shuo.
Tajikistan’s Dushanbe Junior Tournament winner Sumaiya Kosimova is taking part in her first competition outside of her country, but despite a lack of international experience she defeated Poland’s promising Roza Asanowicz by split decision.
This result was Tajikistan’s first ever triumph in the AIBA Women’s Junior/Youth World Boxing Championships.
Mongolia’s Junior National Champion Enkhjargal Munguntsetseg continued the upsets as she became the first boxer in Taipei to defeat a Russian boxer when she outpointed Ekaterina Molchanova.
The Russian boxer began strongly and took the lead after round one, before a change of tactics from Munguntsetseg saw the Mongolian athlete dominate the rest of the contest.
Ireland’s Niamh Earley won the Golden Girl Women’s Junior Cup in Boras in Sweden in January, but she had to meet with Russia’s EUBC European Women’s Junior Continental Champion Anna Krasnoperova in the opening preliminary round of the Junior Light Bantamweight class (52 kg).
Earley was not overawed by her decorated opponent, and was named the winner of a narrow bout which eliminated the gold medal favourite of the weight class.
AIBA Women’s JuniorYouth World Boxing Championships Taipei 2015
Ones to watch
Kazakhstan’s Women’s Junior National Champion Zhazira Urakbayeva opened her competition against Chinese Taipei’s southpaw 15-year-old Chen Tzu Hsuan, and impressed with a strong finish to the match which enabled her to advance to the latter stages of the competition.
Heaven Garcia is an exciting American boxing prospect, and lived up to her reputation with a highly skilled performance in her bout with Ireland’s Shauna Blaney.
The 15-year-old US boxer utilised a tight defence mixed with many successful attacks, and her win signifies her standing as one of the favourites for gold at Junior Light Flyweight (48 kg).
Another American with medal aspirations is Junior National Champion and Junior National Olympiad Pauline Viesca, who began her tournament with an entertaining win over Kazakhstan’s Akniyet Abdigozha.
Hungary’s Queen’s Women’s Junior Cup silver medallist Angela Nagy only began boxing last year, but showcased her amazing potential with a victory over Lin Chiao Ling.
Nagy seized on an apparent lack of confidence from her opponent at the beginning of the fight, and knocked her down to the canvas early.
After a second knockdown in round two, the referee stopped the bout, and Nagy is a very dangerous boxer for anyone to face as the competition progresses.
Day 3 produces many surprises in the AIBA Women’s Junior/Youth World Boxing Championships Taipei 2015
Fact of the day
The European and the Asian boxers continued their winning path in Taipei, where the United States of America and the Dominican Republic also achieved remarkable performances on Day 3.
Among the developing boxing nations, Algeria, Chinese Taipei, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Switzerland, Tajikistan and Vietnam all won at least one match in the event.
Quote of the day
“I am very happy that I was able to win my opening contest against the tough Italian boxer in my home city. In the beginning, I used my regular punching style, but I felt suddenly exhausted due the intensity of this hard bout. I had to change my tactics in the final round where I moved less, and this switch was enough for me to win the contest,” said Chinese Taipei’s Lo Ching Ting after her match against Italy’s Roberta Bonatti.
Tomorrow’s program
The fourth competition day of the AIBA Women’s Junior/Youth World Boxing Championships Taipei 2015 will decide who will earn guaranteed medals in the event, as the first stage of the quarter-finals are scheduled.
21 Junior bouts open Day 4 where one of the most anticipated bouts will be held between Russia’s Liudmila Vorontsova and India’s Ani Lama in the Featherweight class (57 kg), while 30 Youth bouts are scheduled for the evening session.
Management of Abia Warriors Football Club of Umuahia has given the Coaches and Players of the team an ultimatum to win their next three Glo Premier League matches or be ready to collect only half, of their
monthly salary.
The ultimatum was coming at the heels of the Warriors’ second home loss of the season as champions, Kano Pillars won 1-0 in Umuahia at the weekend.
During an emergency meeting which was convened at the club’s secretariat in Umuahia to review the lost match, and also attended by Board members and the Technical Crew, management, expressed displeasure that the club has lost twice in only five home games insisting that the club’s fortunes must improve henceforth.
Abia Warriors Football Club, Chairman Emeka Inyama
Speaking, club Chairman, Chief Emeka Inyama said Abia Warriors have no reason not to do well since the welfare of the players and officials have been properly taken care of.
“As we speak, we are net owing any of you. Your salary has been paid regularly so you don’t have any reason not to perform well”, an obviously disappointed Chief Inyama told the technical crew.
According to him, only half of their salary will henceforth be paid to them unless they win their next three league games insisting that there will be no going back on the decision.
Chief Inyama urged the technical crew to strengthen all weak areas in the team to make them more competitive adding that the Warriors did well in its premier League debut season and is expected to improve on that.
He reminded the coaches that they were given a free hand to recruit the player they felt could deliver the goods as management never interfered in their selection and wondered why the team could not hold its own against the defending champions.
Ladan Bosso, photo credit ladanbosso.blogspot.com
Responding, the Technical Adviser of the team, Isa Ladan Bosso on behalf of his crew and the players apologised for the loss against his former employers and attributed it to ill-luck.
“We dominated the match and created more goal scoring opportunities than Pillars but the goals simply refused to come”, he said.
Bosso however promised that the team will perform better in its subsequent matches and commended the Government and Management for their support so far and urged them not to relent.
Nigerian representatives Warri Wolves FC believe they can overturn a 3-0 deficit from their CAF Confederation Cup play-off first leg against AC Leopards of Congo-Brazzaville.
The Wolves traveled to Dolisie with plenty of confidence but were bombed 3-0 by the Leopards, although they put part of the blame at the doorsteps of the match referee.
Team Coach Paul Aigbogun made it clear that his boys will give it their best shot when the return leg holds at the Warri City Stadium on Sunday, 7th June.
Warri Wolves team before their match against Racing De Bobo FC photo credit Moses Etu
Wolves were unbeaten in the competition until the trip to Dolisie, having beaten Racing Club Bobo-Dioulasso of Burkina Faso and MK Etancheite of DR Congo away from home while drawing with Dedebit FC in Ethiopia.
CAF CONFEDERATION CUP PLAY-OFF RESULTS
AC Leopards (Congo) 3 Warri Wolves (Nigeria) 0
Esperance (Tunisia) 4 Hearts of Oak (Ghana) 0
Raja Casablanca (Morocco) 2 Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) 0
AS Kaloum Star (Guinea) 0 Orlando Pirates (South Africa) 2
NFF President Amaju Pinnick is confident the good old days are returning to the elite division of Nigeria football after savouring an incident-free Glo Premier League showdown between traditional rivals Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Enugu Rangers at the Lekan Salami Stadium on Sunday.
“It was just like the good old days, when people could go to any of the stadia with their families and enjoy a League match without any hassles. The officiating was spot-on, the players gave their all and both teams deserved the point they each got from the encounter.
“I just feel that the good times are returning. The efforts of the Nigeria Football Federation and the League Management Company are yielding positive dividends.”
Pinnick, once more, praised the NFF Referees Committee headed by Yusuf Ahmed Fresh and the Nigeria Referees Association led by Tade Azeez.
“These two organs are working very hard to restore the glory of the League. They are complementing very well the efforts of the NFF and the LMC. The capacity –building programmes for the referees, and the general re-orientation of officiating officials have not been in vain.”
Pinnick was excited after the 1-1 draw between the two powerhouse teams with mass following, and promised to watch more domestic League matches as his schedule permits. Referee Ahmed Rufai from Jigawa State was in charge.
“We are having proper and very good officiating these days. I congratulate the referees and the assistant referees, as well as our match commissioners and referee assessors. The NFF and the LMC will continue the thorough monitoring of the officials, and we insist that those who perform below expected standard will be visited with full sanctions.”
TIMOTHY SIMON OF NASARAWA (1) photo credit LMC Media
In other Week 9 matches played on Sunday, Abia Warriors lost 0-1 at home to champions Kano Pillars, while Enyimba FC won 2-1 away to Dolphins in Port Harcourt. These results took the number of away wins this season to 10, with so many credible drawn games to add to the list.
On Sunday, Nasarawa United also drew 1-1 at home to Sunshine Stars, while FC Taraba secured a point in Jos after drawing 0-0 with Giwa FC.
America’s Jimmy BUTLER claims his first ever ITTF-North America title after upsetting top seeded Timothy WANG (USA) at the recently concluded 2015 ITTF-North America Cup on 17 May 2015 in Markham, Canada.
The ITTF-North America Cup is the continental qualification for the ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cups later this year, with the winners gaining direct entry to the prestigious events.
After garnering the golden ticket to the Men’s World Cup, the 44 year old expressed “Winning this title is best of my career and the most amazing feeling, it felt like I’m in table tennis heaven! I have never won a big North American title before, I was the runner-up at 4 North American Championships in the past, and so this victory is simply amazing!”
In an intensely contested Men’s Singles gold medal match, the American duo pulled off amazing rallies to thrill the crowd. Butler eventually emerged successful to defeat his compatriot 4-2 (11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 10-12, 11-6).
Jimmy Butler claims career first continental title at 2015 ITTF-North America Cup
After his victory, Butler shared, “I’m really surprised that I actually played my best match of the tournament in the finals tonight, that was very unexpected. Timothy looked better than me the whole tournament, but once the match started, I was able to deal with all of his shots and got into a good rhythm. I played very consistent and mistake-free, which is one thing I’ve always been striving to do.”
It was another remarkable victory for USA, with Butler making his breakthrough at the 2015 ITTF-North America Cup at 44, Kanak JHA (USA) made history when he won the 2014 edition to become the youngest winner of an ITTF continental event at the age of 14.
In the Women’s Singles Finals, it was the host nation’s ZHANG Mo who outshined the top seed, Lily ZHANG (USA). The 26 year old Canadian took down the 2014 Youth Olympics bronze medalist 4-1 (11-3, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7) to retain her title.
After securing her crown, ZHANG stated, “I think I prepared very well for the finals against Lily. She’s higher ranked than me, so I was always ready to fight during the match.”
“I am elated to qualify for the Women’s World Cup later this year. Last year I lost in the qualifications, so I hope to advance further this year!”
Qualifications for the 2015 ITTF Men’s & Women’s World Cups:
Current World Champion: MA Long (CHN), DING Ning (CHN)
NN Table Tennis Club 2015 ITTF-Europe Top 16 Cup: Dimitrij OVTCHAROV (GER), Marcos FREITAS (POR), Panagiotis GIONIS (GRE), LIU Jia (AUT), Petrissa SOLJA (GER), Irene IVANCAN (GER)
GAC Group 2015 Asian Cup: XU Xin (CHN), Jun MIZUTANI (JPN), FENG Tianwei (SIN), LIU Shiwen (CHN)
In What seems like a scene out of Hollywood Fc Barcelona have this past weekend dethroned the former Champions of the Liga BBVA the same way they they were treated about A year ago.
The Out going defending champions of the Spanish Elite Football League Atlético Madrid won the league title with a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou and last night Fc Barcelona have paid them back in their own coins by defeating the Madrid team with a 0-1 win at the Vicente Calderón.
Great Sport personalities Like Club legend Carles Puyol, NBA Star Kobe Bryant and Club President Josep Maria Bartomeu also took to social media to felicitate with the Catalan club on securing their 23rd Liga title in grand style.
Fc Barcelona are League Champions! 2014-2015! photo credit fcbarcelona.com
Even another Cristiano Ronaldo Hatrick in the game against Espanyol was lost in the euphoria that greeted that 65th minute goal from no other person than the Great Lionel Messi to take his Season’s tally of goals to 41. While Ronaldo’s Tally is now 45 the battle for the Pichichi will surely go down to the wire.
But the Blaugrana are more focused on completing a treble this season as the new kings of Spain have still got a chance to Win the Copa Del Rey but the big one comes up Saturday, Jun 6 2015 when they battle the Old Lady (Juventus) for Europe’s Biggest Club trophy the UEFA Champions League at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany Kick off is 20:45 CET.
Kudos Must go to Manager Luis Enrique for bringing back the glory of the Catalunya Side, Barca left no one in doubt of their intentions as they won all six of their last games in the Liga with clean sheets.
It’s definitely Not impossible for this team to do the treble.
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