The National Women’s Senior National team will not be arriving in Lagos today (Tuesday) again due to logistic reasons. According to an earlier schedule, the D’Tigress who are currently in Atlanta, USA were meant to arrive Tuesday night in continuation of their FIBA 2018 World cup preparation in Lagos. The Nigeria Basketball Federation said due […]
via Logistics Delays D’Tigress Arrival In Lagos — finixsportsblog
The Director, Aspire Football Dreams (Nigeria), Colonel Sam Ahmedu (rtd) on Wednesday paid a condolence visit to the NFF Secretariat, lamenting the death of the Federation’s Head of Protocol, Ibrahim Abubakar.
Abubakar was killed on Wednesday, 6th January by gunmen who stormed his house in Kado Estate, Gwarinpa in the early hours.
“The death of ‘Ibro’ remains very shocking. It is a tragic thing and we can only pray that God will comfort the NFF and the young family that the ‘Ibro’ has left behind.
“On behalf of Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, I condole you and pray that this kind of thing never happens again in NFF and in Nigeria football generally.”
Ahmedu, who is also president of Zone 3 of basketball’s FIBA Africa, was received by the NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, who thanked Ahmedu and Aspire Academy for their sympathy.
Col. Ahmedu’s visit preceded an eighth day fidau prayer for the soul of the late Abubakar organized by the Management and Staff of the Nigeria Football Federation at the Secretariat.
The 2015 Africa Champions Cup Zone-3 qualifier has been fixed for November 5 through 12 at the Stade L’Amite, Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The eight countries in the zone, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria and Togo are expected to present two teams in the men and women categories.
According to the president of the zone, Sam Ahmedu, “teams are expected to arrive Cotonou on November 4 and depart on the 12th.
The qualifier is a prelude to the final round slated for Angola between November 27th and December 19th 2015.
Zone-1 qualifier holds between November 3rd and November 7th in Tunisia, Cape Verde will stage the men’s qualifiers in Zone-2 from October 28th through 31st.
Zone-4 qualifiers for men and women clubs is scheduled for November 7 through 15th in Congo.
Zone-5 qualifiers have already been decided in Rwanda with Gezira basketball club of Egypt qualifying for the final round in the men’s category while Berco Stars of Burundi and KCCA of Uganda have qualified in the women’s category.
Zone-7 has also produced its qualifiers with ASCUT and SEBAM both of Madagascar booking their places for the final round while Zone-6 qualifiers will be decided in Angola between 29th October and 5th November.
For eight days a total of 18 Secondary Schools teams (9 boys and 9 girls) qualified from 9 states that make up the confluence conference gathered in Lokoja to flag off the first out of the four conferences as packaged by Nestle Milo the event’s sole sponsor.
Nestle’s target is the development of Nigerian youths using the game of basketball to showcase their talents. The turn out by the states and their teams was encouraging. A total of 30 matches were played and this situation made it possible for more referees to be engaged at the championship. It is said that the only thing permanent is change.
There were change of guards in some matches making way for newcomers to experience victory. The absence of some crazy scores especially the quarter final stages was a clear indication that the sponsor Nestle Milo and other stakeholders, the Nigerian School Sports Federation and the National Collegiate Sports Foundation have already made the game of basketball a household name in Nigeria. The perpetual dominance of the game in the past by some states has also become things of the past.
Host, Kogi State dethroned Adamawa in the final to emerge as confluence conference champions. This is a clear evidence that the game of basketball has already developed a tap root at the grassroots. The students mastering of the rules and skills of the game explains they have firm grip of basketball, kudos to the sponsor Nestle Milo.
The President FIBA Africa Zone 3 Col. Sam Ahmedu who is also the coordinator of the Nestle Milo Secondary School Championship said the standard at the confluence conference was very high.
“The keen competition by the participating teams tells the story of the steady growth of game in the country and this feat should be credited to Nestle”. The quarter final and semi final matches were close shaves. In the near future champions from the confluence can spring up from Taraba, Borno, Kano or Zamfara. Kogi State Commissioner for Sports and Youth, Hon. Attah Sule Itani said the Nestle Milo Championship which keeps the youth busy all the year round is a good thing to happen in sports development. “You can see for the past six days, the focus of these players has been on the game of basketball. The players and their coaches have only been discussing tactics and match strategies”.
In terms of organization, all the departments at the confluence in Lokoja scored highly to raise the standard. Anybody who watched the 2014 final in Lagos would observe that the confluence final in Lokoja toed the same line.
There were no dull moments at intervals. Apart from the Milo clap that greeted every score, the Space Unlimited choreography group from Lagos added color on the final day at the confluence conference. With the confluence conference over the train moves to Benin City, Edo State where the other qualifiers for the Atlantic Conference converged to vie for honours.
SWXQA!1
Not less than 8,000 schools have registered for the 17th Nestle MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship tagged “Slam to win” across the 36 states and the Federal capital territory of Nigeria.
At a press conference to herald the 17th edition of the championship,the Managing Director of Nestle Nigeria PLC, Dharnesh Gordhon said, ” The championship is aimed at inspiring the Nigerian youth to get into sports and enjoy the positive experience of physical activities early in life whilst instilling life values of hard work,responsibilty,fair play,discipline,perseverance and team work spirit”
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According to the Category Manager Beverages, Mr Olufemi Akintola “Champions from 36 states and FCT will slug it out in four conferences where they will represent their states. The winner of each of the conference will qualify for the national finals. Two lucky losers will also qualify to play in the national finals. The four conferences are: Confluence conference in Lokoja, Atlantic conference in Benin-city, Central conference in Akure and Western conference in Ibadan.”
He also said at the end of the conferences,twelve teams (six male and six female) will emerge to play at the grand finale of the 17th MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship. All twelve teams will battle it out for the coveted cup at the Indoor sports hall of the National stadium, Surulere, Lagos from 1st to 6th June this year. Every team participating in the national finals will receive N200,000. Winners will go home with additional N150000 for first place,while the second and third placed teams will receive N120,000 and N100,000 respectively.
The draw for the National finals were made at the press conference;
Male Category:
Group A
Central Conference Champion
Confluence Conference Champion
Best Loser 1
Group B
Western Conference champion
Atlantic Conference champion
Best Loser 2
Female Category:
Group A
Central Conference champion
Confluence Conference champion
Best Loser 2
Group B
Western Conference champion
Atlantic Conference champion
Best Loser 1
Paul Ayorinde
A cradle is a noun which could mean a small bed for an infant, a support for objects (such as the support for the handset of a telephone) or the place where anything is nurtured during its early existence.
The cradle is, thus, a fitting description for the Nestle Milo Championship which has been nurturing the game of Basketball in Nigeria for the past 17years.
Unlike the game of Football which is dominated by the boys at the secondary schools level, Nestle Milo carefully chose the game of Basketball to ensure both boys and girls in schools get the same experience in the game and that more, importantly, they get the right foundation for development.
The President FIBA Africa zone 3 Col. Sam Ahmedu confirms that Nigeria is already reaping the dividends of the Nestle Milo Basketball Championships in schools. “Take a close look at the line up in our National teams both men and women, you will observe that the products are from the Nestle Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship”.
Col. Ahmedu, recalled that what started 17years ago as Nestle Milo Basketball Clinic later metamorphosed into a full fledged championship which has now spread like wild fire engulfing Secondary Schools across the country.
The 2014 edition featured about 8,000 secondary schools from the 36states and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. The thrilling final matches in the boys and girls categories saw what experts tagged a change of guards. The dominance of some states like Bayelsa, Ogun and Edo got dismantled by Benue state which reigned supreme in the boys and girls categories.
Government Secondary School, Gboko got the top spot in the girls’ category while Jesus College, Otukpo led the boys.
Nestle Milo the sole sponsor tries to communicate, to the students, the great values of sport as a teacher through Determination, Discipline, Honesty, and Confidence.
According to the Category Manager Beverages, Mr. Femi Akintola, “sports is a great teacher and children’s participation in sports helps set the foundation for a solid future. They learn determination to succeed, discipline to persevere and many more life values by participating in sport. We will continue to provide them this platform”
Nestle Milo has continued the synergy with other experts to ensure hitch-free championships. Its partners include the Nigeria Schools Sport Federation (NSSF) which ensures the participation of schools and students. The other important partner in progress is the National Collegiate Sports Foundation which is the body responsible for the Championship proper. They draw and enforce the rules and regulations and appoint referees among other responsibilities.
For the 2015 edition of the Nestle Milo Championship, records show that over 10,000 Secondary Schools across the country registered for the competition. The state preliminaries started on the 2nd of March, 2015 and ended on the 8th of March, 2015 while the state finals were concluded on the 14th of March, 2015.
The stage is now set for the conference playoffs which run- back to back- from Wednesday 22nd April to Wednesday 20th May, 2015.
1. Confluence Conference (Lokoja) 22nd – 29th April, 2015
2. Atlantic Conference (Benin) 30th April – 6th May, 2015
3. Central Conference (Akure) 7th – 13th May, 2015
4. Western Conference (Ibadan) 14th – 20th May, 2015
The National Finals will take place in Lagos between 1st and 6th June, 2015 while the best 50 players identified during the Finals will be invited to the Top 50 camp which will hold in Lagos from 4th to 6th August, 2015 and where they will be trained by NBA coaches led by Masai Ujiri, the General Manager of the Toronto Raptors.
This year’s edition the organizers, Nestle Milo, say will be more thrilling than the 2014 edition where, apart from breath taking skills displayed by the players, top class musicians like Nyaya performed live at intervals.
The 2015 edition also promises exciting innovations like the online activation for celebrity mums and more engagement with the kids on the social media platforms.
President of FIBA Africa Zone III, Rtd. Col Sam Ahmedu has appointed 14 Nigerians in the newly inaugurated FIBA AFRICA Zone III Executive Board and new commissions in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A release from the secretariat revealed that Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) board member Mr Musa Kida was appointed as the Zone Vice President alongside Mrs. Magret Abara and former Nigerian international now based in Cote d’ivoire Musa Adamu on 9-man Executive Board while 12 others constitute various commissions reconstituted by the board.
The Dodan Warriors proprietor appointed General manager of SuperSport West Africa Felix Awogu and Fubarah Onyeabor on the Finance, Marketing and Sponsorship commissions to headed by Vice President Mr Musa Kida.
Mark Mentors Basketball Club owner Igoche Mark and Former Nigerian star Mr. John Faniran were appointed on the Competitions commission.
Former D’Tigress captain Mfon Udoka and Obande Ogbole were appointed on the Technical commission while the Women Development Commission has the Proprietor of Dolphins Basketball club and Chairman of The Punch Newspaper Wale Aboderin, alongside former D’Tigress Mactabene Amachree and Mobolaji Akiode, Founder of the Hope 4 Girls basketball programme.
The media council will be headed by Mr Pius Ayinor and Adeyinka Elebute was appointed as secretary to the council while Secretary of Dodan Warriors Basketball club Joe Apu was appointed Administrative secretary to the board.
On constitution of the board, Sam Ahmedu said he picked a team of people who already understand the enormity of the task ahead ” The members of the board are committed to the development of the Zone in all ramifications. And are they are all fully aware that the task ahead of us is not an easy one but we are all determined to give our best”.
The other members that joined the 3 Nigerians on the executive board include Bah Florient of Cote d ‘ ivoire (Secretary General), Guebre Boukary (Burkina Faso), Coffi Torno (Benin Republic), Idrissou Gamel Ayambire (Ghana) and Lisa Sidonie (Benin Repubic).
The Nigeria Basketball Federation has described the just concluded 16th congress of FIBA Africa as well organized and roundly successful.The congress which took place in Madagascar discussed the way forward for African basketball in relation to the new FIBA governance structure,competition calendar and format and also elected officials to steer the affairs of the zone during the 2014-2019 term of office
In a statement signed by it’s President,Tijjani Umar, the federation congratulated the continental body for it’s pro-active leadership and innovation and also hailed the two elected Nigerian members of the body’s central board, Muktar Khaleh,immediate past two-term president of zone 3 comprising eight west African countries and now President of FIBA Africa’s Finance Commission and Sam Ahmedu,the new Zone 3 President. By their membership of the FIBA Africa central board and as provided by it’s new statutes,the duo will become automatic members of the next NBBF board when the tenure of the current board expires in 2017.
The NBBF urged Khaleh and Ahmedu to be great ambassadors of Nigeria and rededicate themselves to the shared ideal of moving Nigerian basketball forward which formed the platform for their emergence.
Oluwafemi Adefeso
NBBF MEDIA COMMITTEE
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