SPORTS
Kwara Falcons win Sam Oguche Energy Bullet Basketball Championship
Kwara Falcons of Ilorin beat Warlords Basketball Club of Abeokuta 69-67 in a keenly contested match on Sunday in Lagos to win the Sam Oguche Basketball Championship
The competition which began on Tuesday at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium had 10 elite basketball clubs competing for honours.
Kwara Falcons went home with the championship trophy and a N1 million cash prize, while Warlords went home with N500,000.
The Head Coach of Kwara Falcons, Baba Jubril, later told Newsmen that he was proud of his team’s performance.
“I’m excited about the victory. It was deserved and credit goes to my team for their hard work and resilience,” Jubril said.
Clubs which competed in the event include Comets, Rivers Hoopers, Lagos Legends, Nigeria Correction Service, Hot Coal of Abuja, Greizly Bears, Raptors and Mibaha of Benue.
In the championship’s women competition, First Bank of Lagos beat MFM basketball club 52-50 to emerge victorious.
The Head Coach of First Bank, Taiye Adenitis, while speaking after the game said the team deserved their hard-fought victory.
The coach said they had wanted to do more but the MFM team was on another level.
“It was a very competitive game. We had the best players and should dominate the game easily, but the MFM team were stoic and pushed us at every department,
“But we look forward to more competitions like this to keep us busy,” Adenitis said.
Captain of First Bank, Joy Ebega, on her part said the team worked hard for the victory going by the fact they won six straight games.
“It shows how good the team is. It’s a great victory for us and a big ‘thanks’ to Sam Oguche for the competition and we just want to prove ourselves as a solid team that works hard to achieve,” Ebega said.
Captain for the MFM team, Umuamaka Okoh, on her part said the team gave their best and lost by a narrow margin.
She said the team would come out better and stronger in the next edition of the competition.
Teams in the women’s competition included First Deepwater, Tap Queens, War Queens Lagos, Air Warriors, Sunshine of Akure, Raptors and Peace Academy
English and Italian football giants Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus will square up for pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong in August, the clubs announced yesterday.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, currently arm-wrestling Arsenal for the Premier League title, will take on Inter Milan on Saturday, August 1, spearheaded by their Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland.
The match will kick off the “Hong Kong Football Festival” at the city’s futuristic 50,000-seat Kai Tak stadium.
The gleaming arena opened a year ago, featuring a roof that can be closed and air-conditioning to combat the fierce summer heat and humidity in Hong Kong.
Chelsea will play Juventus on Wednesday August 5 to round off the mini-tournament.
Lagos State will host the second edition of the National School Volleyball Championships from April 21 to April 24 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
President of the Nigeria School Sport Federation (NSSF), Olabisi Joseph, said in a statement on Monday that schools from across the country had converged for the four-day tournament.
She said the competition meant for secondary schools is organised by the NSSF in collaboration with the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), with support from the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC).
Joseph said the annual tournament aims to develop volleyball in the school system and identify outstanding athletes who will represent Nigeria at the International School Sport Federation (ISF) events.
She expressed delight at the growing interest among schools nationwide and urged participants to be worthy ambassadors of their institutions.
“In Nigeria, we are blessed with an abundance of talent in the school system.
“Volleyball, being one of the popular sports in schools, has ignited healthy rivalry among students.
“Sports stimulates learning, so we are building a total child through events like this,” she said.
Joseph added that standout athletes from the Lagos championship would be shortlisted to compete at the ISF World School Volleyball Championship in China.
She described the event as a unique opportunity for young players to showcase their skills before global scouts.
“Teams from Lagos, Osun, Rivers, Bayelsa, Adamawa, Ogun, Taraba, Bauchi and other states are competing for honours, with NVBF technical officials on ground to scout for talent.”
The maiden edition of the National School Volleyball Championships was held in Abuja, where host teams won both the boys’ and girls’ categories.
Outstanding players from the FCT, Plateau and Kaduna states later represented Nigeria at the 2025 ISF World School Volleyball Championships in China.
The World School Volleyball Championship is scheduled to be held from July 1 to July 10 in China.
Guinea will face Nigeria’s Flamingos in the final qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Guineans defeated Niger Republic 3-0 in the second leg of their qualifying fixture in Conakry on Saturday.
They won the contest 8-2 on aggregate, following their 5-2 triumph in the first leg last week.
The winner of the Flamingos versus Guinea clash will qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Flamingos set up camp in Abuja for the clash with their fellow West Africans last week.
Newly appointed head coach, Akeem Busari invited 36 players to camp for the team’s preparation.
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