Basketball
NBBF LEAGUE DIRECTOR HAILS KWESE PROSPECT CAMP
The inaugural edition of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF Kwese Prospect Camp which was concluded in Kaduna at the weekend with 65 players from across the country participating has been declared a huge success.
The Kwese Premier League Director, Ajibarede Bello, said the intensive three-day exercise achieved its aims of identifying future prospects players for the Kwese Premier League and the national teams.
“The camp which is a developmental process has been a huge success. The players discovered would be monitored and built into future stars,” Bello said, adding that, “coaches were invited to watch and select players that they could recruit into their teams.”
At the end of the camp, five players were selected as the best and presented plaques for their skill. They are Ebuka Ifeanyi, Lawson Ominini, Odufuwa Kanyisola, Musa Yusuf and Richard Daniel who national team coach, Scott Nnaji said coaches would “build up and know what will help them move forward and also introduce new things that will help them get it right.”
Coach Nnaji added that “We are going to train them to so that we can have players in every part of the country,” to buttress Mr Bello’s statement that “We are going to make it a regular basis and will be going to different venues across the country to hold it.”
Coach Mike Akuboh, one of the instructors at the camp expressed joy at the quality of players who took part in the exercise, explaining that by taking them through the rudiments of the game and preparing them psychologically, the youngsters may just be on their way to becoming world stars that will be reckoned with.
“I am impressed by the quality of players at this camp. I am particularly impressed by one of them by name Ade who is already exhibiting traits of a big winner. He will in no distant time, rule the world of basketball,” he added.
One of the Top five players, Ebuka Ifeanyi from Lagos expressed optimism that he will do better in the game to be recruited to play in the league.
“I want to get better in the game both body wise and mentally and see myself play in the Kwese League,” he opined.
The camp tagged, ‘Kwese Prospect Camp’, is a youth development initiative of the Tijjani Umar-led NBBF and is targeted at grassroots basketball players 19-year old and below.
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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