Basketball
TIGER WOODS SAYS HE’S STILL IN SHOCK OVER KOBE BRYANT’S DEATH
More than two weeks after Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, Tiger Woods is among those who find the shock may have worn off but disbelief remains.
“It’s hard to put into words what transpired and the fact that it’s a reality,” 15-time major golf champion Woods said on Tuesday (Feb 11) at Riviera Country Club, where he is preparing to tee off on Thursday in the Genesis Invitational.
“Part of me thinks that it’s not real.”
The 41-year-old Bryant, a retired NBA legend with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in the Jan 26 crash in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles.
They were on their way to a girls’ basketball tournament at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in suburban Thousand Oaks – not far from Sherwood Country Club, which hosted Woods’s Hero World Challenge tournament for years.
Woods learned of Bryant’s death just after he completed his final round at Torrey Pines that Sunday.
The 15-time major champion, who said he grew up a “diehard Lakers fan,” noted that he turned pro the same year that Bryant was drafted into the NBA to start a 20-year career that would include five titles with the Lakers.
“I don’t really know what I said post-round,” Woods said on Tuesday.
“I was in shock just like everyone else, trying to put it in words going forward.”
“The reality of the situation is Kobe and Gigi are not here, but it’s hard to accept,” Woods continued.
“People who are close him and all the families, it’s just hard to accept that reality.”
Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, has announced a public “celebration of life” for Kobe, Gianna and the other crash victims will be held on Feb 24 at Staples Centre arena.
The date – 2-24-20 – honours the jersey numbers 2 and 24 worn by Gianna and Bryant and the 20 years Bryant was in the NBA.
But even as such plans go forward, Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram on Monday to express her own struggle to come to terms with her family’s loss.
“My brain refuses to accept that both Kobe and Gigi are gone,” she wrote.
“I can’t process both at the same time. It’s like I’m trying to process Kobe being gone but my body refuses to accept my Gigi will never come back to me. It feels wrong… I’m so mad. She had so much life to live.”
-AFP
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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