Basketball
COTE D’IVOIRE LOSES OPENING FIBA WORLD CUP MATCH
China survived a tougher-than-expected fight against Cote d’Ivoire in their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 opener with their star trio Guo Ailun, Yi Jianlian and Zhou Qi doing the heavy-lifting in a 70-55 win in Group A.
Yi scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to go with 8 rebounds while TCL Player of the Game Guo tallied 17 points and Qi chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. The trio combined for 32 of the team’s 41 points in the second half. Guy Landry Edi picked up 10 points to lead Cote d’Ivoire.
Turning Point: With the lead at just 38-37 midway through the third quarter, China took control of the game with an 11-2 run as they scored four of their five baskets on layups. The surge extended out to 18-5 spanning the final two quarters and the gap was 56-42 with 7 minutes left. The Elephants could not get closer than 9 points the rest of the way.
TCL Player of the Game: Guo was strong throughout the game but really stepped up when China needed it most. He had two layups and an assist in the game deciding 11-2 run late in the third quarter. All told, he ended up with 17 points, 9 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.
Stats Don’t Lie: China’s defense frustrated Cote d’Ivoire to the tune of just 29 percent shooting from the field to go along with 21 turnovers – though the Africans did grab 19 offensive rebounds. But China made a white-hot 71 percent of their two-point shots in the second half.
Bottom Line: The home side China shook off first-game jitters and the pressure of expectations to get the victory. Li Nan’s team will next face Poland on Monday, September 1 with the winner taking sole possession of first place in the group with two wins in two games. Cote d’Ivoire on the same day will face Venezuela and the victor will get their first victory.
They said: “We put a lot of preparation for the World Cup group stage and tonight was a good effort overall. We got the win at home and obviously as you guys saw their intensity and physical style gave us some trouble. At the half we talked about our adjustments and made some defensive stops and got transition baskets. We think every game is a key game for us.” – China head coach Li Nan
“We’re very happy we got the win. We put a whole lot of preparation for this game especially Coach Li and the whole coaching staff. All the played did their job but the important thing is we played together tonight and everybody was happy for each other. We are happy to get our first victory but we need to focus on Poland now because as coach says one, it’s game at a time.” – China forward Zhai Xiaochuan
“We were efficient in the beginning and started well but in the end we started to move slow. We have to think positive and we need to go back to the drawing board and try to figure out how to win the next two games.” – Cote d’Ivoire head coach Paolo Povia
“We came up short today, we tried to be aggressive. We knew they had some big men and fast guards. We tried to play our aggressive game and focused on defense but they came up with a good defense of their own in the third quarter. The tournament is not over for us we still have two games we have to focus and stay positive and try to win the next two games.” – Cote d’Ivoire center Mohamed Kone
FIBA
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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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred national honours on all members of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, in recognition of their historic victory at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship in Côte d’Ivoire.
Each member of the team was decorated with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) title at a special reception held on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Representing the president at the event was Vice President Kashim Shettima, who announced a series of generous rewards for the champions.
In addition to the national honours, each player will receive $100,000, while each member of the technical crew will be given $50,000. The government also pledged a flat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to every player and official on the squad.
The rewards follow D’Tigress’s emphatic 78-64 win over Mali in Sunday’s AfroBasket final, played at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan. The victory marked Nigeria’s fifth consecutive AfroBasket title, a feat unmatched in the tournament’s history. With the triumph, D’Tigress also secured an automatic berth to the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
President Tinubu, in his remarks delivered by Vice President Shettima, hailed the team’s resilience, determination, and consistency, describing their dominance on the continental stage as a symbol of national pride and inspiration to the youth.
Present at the reception were First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, Garba Maidoki, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youths and Sports Development, and Kabiru Amadou, Chairman of the House Committee on Sports.
The honours and incentives underscore the government’s renewed commitment to recognising excellence in sports and motivating future champions.
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