Basketball
U.S. basketball star Griner’s 9-year drug sentence upheld in Russia
A Russian court on Tuesday dismissed U.S. WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against a nine-year sentence for possessing and smuggling vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, paving the way for her to be sent to a penal colony, in a court case that Washington has called “sham.”
U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration in late July had proposed a deal for a prisoner swap with Russia to secure the release of Griner and former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, said he will not let up efforts to bring them home.
“We’re in constant contact with Russian authorities to get Brittney and others out. So far we’ve not been meeting with much positive response but we’re not stopping,” he said.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist, was arrested on Feb. 17 at a Moscow airport, a week before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. The souring of ties between Russia and the West has further complicated the talks between Washington and Moscow to secure her release.
Griner and her lawyers had asked for acquittal or at least a reduction in her sentence, which they said was disproportionate to the offence and at odds with Russian judicial practice.
After retiring for no more than 30 minutes to consider the appeal, the presiding judge said the original verdict was upheld “without changes” except for the counting of time served in pre-trial detention as part of the sentence.
The state prosecutor had said Griner’s Aug. 4 sentence of nine years in a penal colony was “fair”, but Alexander Boykov, one of her lawyers, had told the three-judge panel sitting in Krasnogorsk, on the outskirts of Moscow:
“No judge, hand on heart, will honestly say that Griner’s nine-year sentence is in line with Russian criminal law,” Boykov said.
Griner’s lawyers in a statement said it would be some time before Griner was moved to a prison colony, and that they had not yet decided whether to try to launch another appeal. They also added her case file would have to be translated into English, which would also take some time.
It was not immediately clear where she would be sent.
“The severity and cruelty of the sentence applied to Griner shocks people around the world,” Boykov said.
Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan, in an earlier statement, described Griner’s conditions as “intolerable circumstances” and the trial she had to go through “another sham judicial proceeding.”
Permitted to make a final statement by live video link from her detention centre in the town of Novoye Grishino, just outside Moscow, Griner said how stressful her eight-month detention and two trials had been.
“I was barely over the significant amount [of cannabis oil] … People with more severe crimes have gotten less than what I was given,” she said.
‘I DID NOT INTEND TO DO THIS’
Griner apologised for what she said was an honest mistake, as she had at her original trial, saying: “I did not intend to do this”, and asking the court to take into account the fact that she had pleaded guilty.
She has said she used medical cannabis to relieve the pain from a series of sports injuries. Both recreational and medicinal uses are prohibited in Russia.
Wearing a black and red lumberjack shirt over a black hooded top, the 32-year-old alternately sat or stood in her cell, sometimes with head lowered, sometimes leaning against the white bars.
When asked if she had understood the verdict, she merely replied “Yes” before being led away.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a briefing Washington has been telling Moscow, including in their talks in recent days, to engage on the U.S. proposal.
“At the very least they should engage seriously and constructively and in good faith. If that happens, we are prepared to see to it and to take steps tomorrow,” Price said.
U.S. Charge d’Affaires Elizabeth Rood, the ranking U.S. diplomat in Moscow, told media waiting outside the court that she had not been allowed to speak to Griner before or after the hearing.
Griner’s lawyers said her biggest fear was not being exchanged and having to serve her entire sentence in Russia. “She had hopes for today as each month, each day away from her family and friends matters to her.”
-Reuters
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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