Sports
Premier Basketball League Final Four Dunks Off In PH …Sports Commissioner Donates N1m To Hoopers
The 2023 NBBF Premier Basketball League Final Four which commenced yesterday at the Port Harcourt basketball Court saw Rivers Hoopers beat Gboko City Chiefs of Benue State 67-62 in the second game of the day.
The competition was witnessed by huge crowd including the Rivers State Commissioner for Sports, Barrister Christopher Green and top government functionaries.
The game which was keenly contested saw the Hoopers running away in the first quarter but the resilient Gboko Chiefs battled gamely to tag along finely, only for the hosts to rely on technical superiority to edge them late in the last quarter
Speaking with sports journalists shortly after the game, Rivers State Commissioner for Sports Barr Green expressed joy over the good performance of Rivers Hoopers in the opening game.
He stated that he was very happy for bringing the basketball tournament to Port Harcourt, adding that in the history of basketball in Nigeria, Rivers State was the first state to play basketball.
“ I am very happy that we were able to bring the action home to Port Harcourt.
“ Of course if you know the history of basketball in Nigeria you know that basketball was first play in Rivers State.
“ I cannot remember when we hosted any tournament of this magnitude. So, hosting the Premier Basketball League Final Four was a challenge to me but I have to take the step and by the grace of God, the Governor of the State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara did not think otherwise”
“ In fact, the Governor wants more sporting activities in the state so that the youth will be fully engaged,” Barr Green said.
The number one sports man in the state said that the tournament would see a lot of youth off the streets, adding that in watching the game the youth will also learn a lot about the game.
“ Again, the kind of basketball game that is ongoing is motivational for those young ones coming up and so we are going to build from here.
“ The truth of the matter is that Rivers Hoopers’ performance was very credible” he said.
He donated the sum of One Million Naira (1,000,000.00) to the team for winning their opening game of the Final Four. He also doled out 200,000 Naira to the supporters for their massive support to the team.
He assured Rivers people that Rivers Hooper will win the final four of the competition.
Meanwhile in the first game of the day Customer basketball club of Abuja defeated Hoops and Read of Lagos 67-51.
By: Tonye Orabere & Kiadum Edookor
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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