For 17 years, the Nestle Milo Basketball Championship has remained the Nation’s flagship grassroot competition which gives the Nigerian Youth the opportunity to showcase their Basketball skills. This year’s edition took it to even greater heights. The standard of play was highly commendable with debutants from Kogi almost stealing the show but for the good finishing from the Kaduna boys. The National Sports Commission’s Director of Grassroots Sports, who took the ceremonial ‘Jump Ball’, was full of praises for the Sponsors Nestle Milo.
“With such competition like the Nestle Milo Secondary Schools Basketball, our National teams and clubs have been getting constant supply and resource for the tired players. I am very happy with the organisation of the championship- from the state preliminaries to the Conference playoffs and the National final”.
Mallam Ibrahim Mohammed, president of the National School Sports Federation, commended Nestle Milo for hosting another hitch free championship. National School Sports Federation is one of the stakeholders, and technical partners to the tournament
“If other Corporate Organisations can do what Nestle Milo is doing in Basketball for other sports, the sky will be the nation’s limit. This is where the National Sports Commission should come in. Nestle has identified the talents, going further to groom and expose them in Top 50 Camp”.
For the Nestle officials present at this year’s final, it was all smiles in satisfaction for a job well executed. Femi Akintola, Nestle’s Category Manager (Beverages), said they are pleased with improved standard of play. “You notice that there is no dominance any longer, you have new champions, upsets at group stages which shows that Nestle’s gospel of Basketball is spreading”
Akintola further said that the outstanding players will be invited for the top 50 camp by Nestle next month in Lagos. The camp will be conducted by top NBA coaches to be led by Masai Ujiri of The Toronto Raptors. A selection of players from the tournament will eventually represent Nigeria at an international tournament to be decided by the NSSF.
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