Basketball
Kano Pillars Win Savanna Conference Six
Defending champions, Kano Pillars have won the Kwese Premier League Savannah Conference Six play-offs after winning all their five matches and ending the championship with one hundred percent record finish.
The tournament which held inside the Indoor Hall of the Murtala Square Kaduna from Monday to Saturday had six teams from the Savannah Conference namely; Kano Pillars, Gombe Bulls, Plateau Peaks, Niger Potters, Bauchi Net and Kada Stars.
Bauchi Net and Kada Stars replaced Mark Mentors and Defenders both of Abuja which failed to turn up for the competition.
To emerge champions of the conference, Pillars beat hard fighting Gombe Bulls 104-97 points in their first game, defeated Kada Stars 91-58 points, won Bauchi Net 85-44 points, fell Niger Potters 103-71 points and routed Plateau Peaks 80-64 points to maintain an unbeaten run.
Coach of the Kano based team, Sani Ahmed, speaking on his team’s performance after the championship reiterated his club’s desire to retain the trophy after the Final Eight in Kano.
“Winning the Savanna Conference Six shows the level of consistency in the club. It also tells of the amount of hard work put in by the players to winning tournaments.”
Ahmed said the ultimate goal of the team is to retain the Final Eight trophy next month.
“The team is not one hundred percent perfect yet. We are still a high scoring side averaging 80 points per game but we are still going to do more so as to defend and win the Final Eight at home in Kano.
“Our tradition is to win any tournament we find ourselves in. So, we aim to retain the Final Eight.
“We have noticed some weaknesses and lapses in the course of our games and will work on them before the Final Eight. I noticed the boys sometimes get complacent; but we need to be consistent and more perfect in taking shots.”
The coach also disclosed that the Conference play-offs was part of preparations for his team’s participation in an invitational tournament slated in Malaysia in the first week of September.
“Immediately we conclude the play-offs and Final Eight we shall be honouring a fully sponsored trip to Malaysia for an invitational tournament involving teams from Japan, China, Malaysia and teams from other Asian countries. Good enough we will be prepared because this championship serves as good preparations for the tournament.”
Other teams that qualified from the Savannah Conference Six are Niger Potters, Gombe Bulls and Plateau Peaks.
The Final Eight in Kano will see four teams each from the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences battle for the ultimate prize to climax the Kwese Premier League Season.
Saturday’s Results
- Gombe Bulls vs Bauchi Net (78-47)
- Kano Pillars vs Plateau Peaks (80-64)
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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