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
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.
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