Basketball
Kwese Basket Ball League: Gombe Bulls Will Bounce Back, Says Coach
Gombe Bulls coach, Abdulrahman Mohammed believes it is not over yet for his team. Bulls finished second in the regular Kwese Premier League Season but lost their two games to defending champions, Kano Pillars and Niger Potters in the ongoing Savannah Conference Six play-offs going on in Kaduna.
Speaking on the chances of his team which lost on Monday to Kano Pillars 97-104 points and another loss by one point 105-106 to a hard fighting Niger Potters of Minna in a thrilling neck-to-neck encounter, he said at this stage qualification for the final eight in Kano is their basic resolve.
“We have not lost hope at all. We still have the chance of qualification for the last eight even though we may have to take the difficult route.
“All we need to do now is to make sure we win our three remaining games against Kada Stars on Thursday, Plateau Peaks on Friday and Bauchi Net on Saturday.
“I know the remaining games will not be easy because teams like Kada Stars and Plateau Peaks will want to impress and prove a point against us, but we are ready and have put behind the loses.”
The former national team captain also said it is better that these loses happened at the final six stage rather than the final.
“I am happy the loses came at this stage, had it been during the final eight, we would have been out of contention. The fixtures also are a bit not favourable to us because as a team that came second in the regular season it is unfair to pitch us in early games against top sides like Kano Pillars and Niger Potters knowing that first wins boosts players’ confidence.
“The ideal thing would have been to start with weaker teams and then progress.” Mohammed who was part of the 2015 Afrobasket coaching crew that won the trophy after 50 years decried the poor motivation of his players by the management team in the Conference Six.
“Painfully, we are the least motivated team in this tournament. Agreed, the state government makes sure the players are not owed salaries during the regular season but coming to championship of this magnitude goes beyond having good player and regular salaries, there must be other encouraging incentives like winning bonuses and additional allowances to give the players extra motivation. Constant salaries I must say are not enough there is need for something extra.” He said.
Meanwhile, Wisdom Prince, Niger Potters’ point guard who put up a splendid performance with five three points throws to help his team beat rivals Gombe Bulls in the 106-105 win has attributed the win to their hard fighting spirit.
“We had to keep fighting and it paid off. We played with so much belief and never game up. We gingered ourselves to fight back each time we were trailing.”
The game which ran neck-to-neck with fans standing on their toes saw Prince scoring the match winner three points shot and ending the game with 26 points with Sabo Gabriel leading scorer with 29 points finish, Gideon Omokudu 21 points and Umar Alhaji with 20 points.
“We are in Kaduna to win and qualify for the Final 8. This is my first season in the premier league and it is a dream comes true for me. For me, my dream is to play continental with Potters.”
Potters with two wins against Bauchi Net and Gombe Bulls will today Thursday face Plateau Peaks.
Thursday’s Fixtures
• Kada Stars vs. Gombe Bulls
• Plateau Peaks vs. Niger Potters
• Bauchi Nets vs. Kano Pillars
Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.
The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.
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Basketball
NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman
The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.
The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.
” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.
” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.
” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.
” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.
The DG added that he does not doubt that Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.
” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.
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Basketball
FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers
The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.
A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.
Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.
FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.
Here is FIBA’s analysis: The return of the Tokyo Olympian has been a blessing for Abdulrahman Mohammed’s Nigeria.
For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.
The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.
Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and Nisre Zouzoua (Cote d’Ivoire)
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