Basketball
COTE D’IVOIRE LOSES OPENING FIBA WORLD CUP MATCH
China survived a tougher-than-expected fight against Cote d’Ivoire in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 opener with their star trio Guo Ailun, Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi doing the heavy-lifting in a 70-55 win in Group A.
Yi scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to go with 8 rebounds while TCL Player of the Game Guo tallied 17 points and Qi chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. The trio combined for 32 of the team’s 41 points in the second half. Guy Landry Edi picked up 10 points to lead Cote d’Ivoire.
Turning Point: With the lead at just 38-37 midway through the third quarter, China took control of the game with an 11-2 run as they scored four of their five baskets on layups. The surge extended out to 18-5 spanning the final two quarters and the gap was 56-42 with 7 minutes left. The Elephants could not get closer than 9 points the rest of the way.
TCL Player of the Game: Guo was strong throughout the game but really stepped up when China needed it most. He had two layups and an assist in the game deciding 11-2 run late in the third quarter. All told, he ended up with 17 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Stats Don’t Lie: China’s defense frustrated Cote d’Ivoire to the tune of just 29 percent shooting from the field to go along with 21 turnovers – though the Africans did grab 19 offensive rebounds. But China made a white-hot 71 percent of their two-point shots in the second half.
Bottom Line: The home side China shook off first-game jitters and the pressure of expectations to get the victory. Li Nan’s team will next face Poland on Monday, September 1 with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the group with two wins in two games. Cote d’Ivoire on the same day will face Venezuela and the victor will get their first victory.
They said: “We put a lot of preparation for the World Cup group stage and tonight was a good effort overall. We got the win at home and obviously as you guys saw their intensity and physical style gave us some trouble. At the half we talked about our adjustments and made some defensive stops and got transition baskets. We think every game is a key game for us.” – China head coach Li Nan
“We’re very happy we got the win. We put a whole lot of preparation for this game especially Coach Li and the whole coaching staff. All the played did their job but the important thing is we played together tonight and everybody was happy for each other. We are happy to get our first victory but we need to focus on Poland now because as coach says one, it’s game at a time.” – China forward Zhai Xiaochuan
“We were efficient in the beginning and started well but in the end we started to move slow. We have to think positive and we need to go back to the drawing board and try to figure out how to win the next two games.” – Cote d’Ivoire head coach Paolo Povia
“We came up short today, we tried to be aggressive. We knew they had some big men and fast guards. We tried to play our aggressive game and focused on defense but they came up with a good defense of their own in the third quarter. The tournament is not over for us we still have two games we have to focus and stay positive and try to win the next two games.” – Cote d’Ivoire center Mohamed Kone
FIBA
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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