Basketball
Kwese Basket Ball League: Gombe Bulls Will Bounce Back, Says Coach
Gombe Bulls coach, Abdulrahman Mohammed believes it is not over yet for his team. Bulls finished second in the regular Kwese Premier League Season but lost their two games to defending champions, Kano Pillars and Niger Potters in the ongoing Savannah Conference Six play-offs going on in Kaduna.
Speaking on the chances of his team which lost on Monday to Kano Pillars 97-104 points and another loss by one point 105-106 to a hard fighting Niger Potters of Minna in a thrilling neck-to-neck encounter, he said at this stage qualification for the final eight in Kano is their basic resolve.
“We have not lost hope at all. We still have the chance of qualification for the last eight even though we may have to take the difficult route.
“All we need to do now is to make sure we win our three remaining games against Kada Stars on Thursday, Plateau Peaks on Friday and Bauchi Net on Saturday.
“I know the remaining games will not be easy because teams like Kada Stars and Plateau Peaks will want to impress and prove a point against us, but we are ready and have put behind the loses.”
The former national team captain also said it is better that these loses happened at the final six stage rather than the final.
“I am happy the loses came at this stage, had it been during the final eight, we would have been out of contention. The fixtures also are a bit not favourable to us because as a team that came second in the regular season it is unfair to pitch us in early games against top sides like Kano Pillars and Niger Potters knowing that first wins boosts players’ confidence.
“The ideal thing would have been to start with weaker teams and then progress.” Mohammed who was part of the 2015 Afrobasket coaching crew that won the trophy after 50 years decried the poor motivation of his players by the management team in the Conference Six.
“Painfully, we are the least motivated team in this tournament. Agreed, the state government makes sure the players are not owed salaries during the regular season but coming to championship of this magnitude goes beyond having good player and regular salaries, there must be other encouraging incentives like winning bonuses and additional allowances to give the players extra motivation. Constant salaries I must say are not enough there is need for something extra.” He said.
Meanwhile, Wisdom Prince, Niger Potters’ point guard who put up a splendid performance with five three points throws to help his team beat rivals Gombe Bulls in the 106-105 win has attributed the win to their hard fighting spirit.
“We had to keep fighting and it paid off. We played with so much belief and never game up. We gingered ourselves to fight back each time we were trailing.”
The game which ran neck-to-neck with fans standing on their toes saw Prince scoring the match winner three points shot and ending the game with 26 points with Sabo Gabriel leading scorer with 29 points finish, Gideon Omokudu 21 points and Umar Alhaji with 20 points.
“We are in Kaduna to win and qualify for the Final 8. This is my first season in the premier league and it is a dream comes true for me. For me, my dream is to play continental with Potters.”
Potters with two wins against Bauchi Net and Gombe Bulls will today Thursday face Plateau Peaks.
Thursday’s Fixtures
• Kada Stars vs. Gombe Bulls
• Plateau Peaks vs. Niger Potters
• Bauchi Nets vs. Kano Pillars
SportyTV has secured a three-year agreement to broadcast NBA games free-to-air across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa, in a move expected to widen access to basketball on the continent.
The deal will see SportyTV air selected NBA games and special events on its free television platform from next season through September 2028.
The partnership begins this Thursday with Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons. For the remainder of the current season, SportyTV will show eight playoff and NBA Finals games.
Beginning next season, the broadcaster will offer a wider package that includes weekly NBA Saturday games, NBA Christmas Day fixtures, NBA All-Star Weekend programming, selected Play-In Tournament games and extensive playoff coverage, including the NBA Finals.
Vice President of Media, Marketing and Business Development at Sporty Group, Elias Gallego, said the agreement was designed to make NBA content more accessible to African audiences.
“There’s a difference between content being available and it being accessible. This deal closes that gap with NBA games, across mobile, smart TVs, and digital platforms, built around how people actually watch today,” Gallego said.
Fans across the four countries will have the opportunity to watch some of the NBA’s biggest stars, including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić, Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The coverage will also spotlight players with African roots and connections, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
Apart from live games, SportyTV will broadcast daily highlights, classic NBA content and historic matchups featuring legendary figures like Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and Dikembe Mutombo.
The addition of the NBA further strengthens SportyTV’s basketball portfolio, which already includes coverage of the Euroleague.
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By Ugo Okeiyi, Enugu
The end-of-year Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational Tournament, tagged “Championing the Youth Through Sports, Education and Opportunity,” has taken off and will be concluded on Friday. The three-day event is taking place at the Indoor Sports Multipurpose Gymnasium, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.
The grassroots basketball competition is designed to serve as a platform for discovering and nurturing the next generation of Nigerian basketball talent.
A total of 14 teams — eight male and six female sides drawn from across the country — are competing for honours in what promises to be an exciting three-day basketball spectacle.
The tournament is powered by the Anthony Ozubuekwe Foundation, in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry for Youth and Sports Development and the Enugu State Basketball Association.
Organisers say fans should expect high-quality action, with displays of skill, athleticism and tactical awareness from some of the most promising young players in the country.
According to the organisers, the initiative is structured to positively engage young people, steering them away from social vices and criminal tendencies, while using sports as a tool for education, personal development and opportunity creation.
They added that the tournament will also give coaches and team officials a valuable opportunity to assess the mental readiness, discipline and competitive mindset of the players, while providing a conducive environment for athletes to interact, bond and learn from one another.
The competition will be played in a round-robin format, with attractive prize money on offer. In the men’s category, the champions will receive ₦2 million and a giant trophy, while the runners-up will earn ₦1.5 million.
In the women’s category, the winning team will go home with ₦1.5 million, while the second-placed team will receive ₦750,000.
With its blend of competition, youth empowerment and community development, the Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational is expected to be one of the standout grassroots sports events of the year in Enugu State.
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Former head coach of Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, Alex Nwora, will join family, friends and well-wishers on December 28, 2025, to celebrate the 90th birthday of his father, Chief Charles Okwudi Nworah, in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The milestone celebration, according to Evelyn Childs, Public Relations Officer of the US-based Imo Women Elite Club (IWEC), will take place at the expansive Onitsha compound of the nonagenarian, who is highly regarded in his community.
Born on April 17, 1936, to Akudo and Agnes Nwora of the Okakwu family in Ogbedogwu Village, Onitsha, Chief Nworah’s early years reflected strong family values rooted in education and public service. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School before moving on to Prince Commercial College, and later completed his secondary education at Baptist High School, Osogbo, in Osun State.
Chief Nworah began his career in the civil service at a young age with the Post and Telecommunications Service (P&T), where his father also served and retired as a senior manager. His professional journey continued seamlessly into Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) following the merger of P&T with the Nigerian External Telecommunications.
Alex Nwora, who led D’Tigers through notable periods of growth and international competition, is expected to play a central role in the celebration, which will bring together members of the extended Nwora family and the Onitsha community to honour the life and legacy of the elder statesman.
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