Basketball
BASKETBALL: MASAI UJIRI PRICKS GLOBAL CONSCIENCE WITH LAUNCH OF HUMANITY
The co-founder of Giants of Africa/President of the Toronto Raptors Masai Ujiri has launched an inspirational movement that should prick a lot of hearts across the globe. The new movement is basically on humanity.
Ujiri, who has been on the forefront of helping young basketballers in Africa hone their skills on the court and out of it defines humanity and explains how humans should live to the benefit of mankind in a three-minute video.
The ex-Nigeria international says, “Let me ask you something. What does humanity mean to you? For me it’s about seeing each other; really seeing. Trying to understand what someone else is going through; and helping if we can even if it is just giving a kind word; some encouragement. That’s humanity.
“When we are born, we are innocent. Our eyes are open; we see each other as human beings; as equals. Deep inside we know that we are a part of something big and that we are meant to come together. It’s who we are it is what we are: one people.
“We build our homes and our communities; join hands to create a world of comfort and peace where hope lives and opportunities breed.
“Bias and injustice have no place in the world we want for our children; we reject entitlement, we choose empowerment. Our traditions are important our differences must be respected.”
The video shot with the backdrop of late Nelson Madela’s speech also features shots of Masai with former American president, Barack Obama; some of the Giants of Africa camps and with family and friends amongst others.
Masai who has run the GOA camps across the continent for more than 15 years has always inspired the youngsters on the power of love, working together as a team; mutual respect, a explains the meaning of victory and winning with the launch of the humanity movement.
He adds, “I may not understand the song you sing but I can listen. When we work to protect what the other person values we reach our true potential as a people; as a planet. This is when we come together, this is when we win.
“This is what I want to reach a day when we see each other, really see the way we did the day when we first opened our eyes; nothing in the way, no bias, one people. That’s the day we remember what it is to be human knowing that each thing we do: a helping hand, a smile makes us part of something big.
That’s humanity to me.”
The Toronto Raptors president has devoted largely devoted to his out of the basketball life to a global work of charity and humanitarian benefits.
By Ugo Okeiyi, Enugu
The end-of-year Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational Tournament, tagged “Championing the Youth Through Sports, Education and Opportunity,” has taken off and will be concluded on Friday. The three-day event is taking place at the Indoor Sports Multipurpose Gymnasium, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.
The grassroots basketball competition is designed to serve as a platform for discovering and nurturing the next generation of Nigerian basketball talent.
A total of 14 teams — eight male and six female sides drawn from across the country — are competing for honours in what promises to be an exciting three-day basketball spectacle.
The tournament is powered by the Anthony Ozubuekwe Foundation, in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry for Youth and Sports Development and the Enugu State Basketball Association.
Organisers say fans should expect high-quality action, with displays of skill, athleticism and tactical awareness from some of the most promising young players in the country.
According to the organisers, the initiative is structured to positively engage young people, steering them away from social vices and criminal tendencies, while using sports as a tool for education, personal development and opportunity creation.
They added that the tournament will also give coaches and team officials a valuable opportunity to assess the mental readiness, discipline and competitive mindset of the players, while providing a conducive environment for athletes to interact, bond and learn from one another.
The competition will be played in a round-robin format, with attractive prize money on offer. In the men’s category, the champions will receive ₦2 million and a giant trophy, while the runners-up will earn ₦1.5 million.
In the women’s category, the winning team will go home with ₦1.5 million, while the second-placed team will receive ₦750,000.
With its blend of competition, youth empowerment and community development, the Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational is expected to be one of the standout grassroots sports events of the year in Enugu State.
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Former head coach of Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, Alex Nwora, will join family, friends and well-wishers on December 28, 2025, to celebrate the 90th birthday of his father, Chief Charles Okwudi Nworah, in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The milestone celebration, according to Evelyn Childs, Public Relations Officer of the US-based Imo Women Elite Club (IWEC), will take place at the expansive Onitsha compound of the nonagenarian, who is highly regarded in his community.
Born on April 17, 1936, to Akudo and Agnes Nwora of the Okakwu family in Ogbedogwu Village, Onitsha, Chief Nworah’s early years reflected strong family values rooted in education and public service. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School before moving on to Prince Commercial College, and later completed his secondary education at Baptist High School, Osogbo, in Osun State.
Chief Nworah began his career in the civil service at a young age with the Post and Telecommunications Service (P&T), where his father also served and retired as a senior manager. His professional journey continued seamlessly into Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) following the merger of P&T with the Nigerian External Telecommunications.
Alex Nwora, who led D’Tigers through notable periods of growth and international competition, is expected to play a central role in the celebration, which will bring together members of the extended Nwora family and the Onitsha community to honour the life and legacy of the elder statesman.
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred national honours on all members of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, in recognition of their historic victory at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship in Côte d’Ivoire.
Each member of the team was decorated with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) title at a special reception held on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Representing the president at the event was Vice President Kashim Shettima, who announced a series of generous rewards for the champions.
In addition to the national honours, each player will receive $100,000, while each member of the technical crew will be given $50,000. The government also pledged a flat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to every player and official on the squad.
The rewards follow D’Tigress’s emphatic 78-64 win over Mali in Sunday’s AfroBasket final, played at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan. The victory marked Nigeria’s fifth consecutive AfroBasket title, a feat unmatched in the tournament’s history. With the triumph, D’Tigress also secured an automatic berth to the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
President Tinubu, in his remarks delivered by Vice President Shettima, hailed the team’s resilience, determination, and consistency, describing their dominance on the continental stage as a symbol of national pride and inspiration to the youth.
Present at the reception were First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, Garba Maidoki, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youths and Sports Development, and Kabiru Amadou, Chairman of the House Committee on Sports.
The honours and incentives underscore the government’s renewed commitment to recognising excellence in sports and motivating future champions.
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