Sports
Okrika Hawks Win Jekiri’s Basketball Challenge In PH
The first edition of Tonye Jekiri’s PH City Basketball Challenge 2022, ended with an exceptional performance that saw Okrika Hawks run across DA-F Kings 80-76 to emerge winners of the five day tournament.
The finals witnessed huge crowd at the Basketball Court Niger/Bende Street in Port Harcourt township, on Sunday, as both teams displayed quality basketball and artistry.
Speaking shortly after the finals, the founder of DA-F basketball programme, coach Fubara Oyanabo, described the tournament as one of the best tournaments held in Port Harcourt.
He said the quality of play in the challenge was quite impressive and encouraging, saying that Port Harcourt is the home of basketball in Nigeria.
According to him, the second edition will be better than this because there will be lots of improvement.
“ I feel very excited seeing the quality of play and players in the tournament. This has shown that Rivers State is the home of basketball in Nigeria.
I must say that the second edition will be better, because things will improve. It is not me that is giving back to the society, it is the kid (Tonye Jekiri) that grew up from Port Harcourt, he felt this is the time to give back to the society” coach Oyanabo said.
He explained that he discovered Jekiri on the 20th September 2009, then he was a footballer, saying that his height attracted him.
“ I know one day he is going to be a big player. He went to school in America in 2020 and presently he is playing for Unikazan in Russia,” he stated.
Also speaking, the father of Tonye Jekiri, Chief Frank Jekiri, advised the youths to be hard working, honest and obey their parents to become productive and good children to their parents and the society.
He confirmed that his son Tonye was a footballer before Coach Fubara Oyanabo discovered him because of his height.
“It is a good development that today he remembered to give back to the society, that means he is thanking God for what he has done for him.
There is a saying that “ if you know where you are coming from you will know where you are going to” Chief Jekiri said.
At the end of the event winners of the tournament, Okrika Hawks went home with N400,000, while the second position, DA-F Kings got N250, 000 and winners of the semifinals got N50,000.
Solomon Ezra took N15,000 home as the Most Valuable Player (male) while Sophia Edison got N10,000 as the Most Valuable Player (female).
By: Tonye Orabere
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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