Basketball
JENNIFER LOPEZ AND SHAKIRA PLAN SUPER BOWL MESSAGE OVER KOBE BRYANT’S DEATH
Kobe Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash has reminded everyone how fragile life is, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira said on Thursday (Jan 30), and the pop superstars plan to use their Super Bowl halftime show to convey that message.
“Life is so fragile and that is why we have to try and live every moment as intensely as we can,” Shakira told a packed news conference.
“We will be celebrating life, celebrating diversity in this country.
“I am sure he (Bryant) will be very proud to see the message we are going to try to convey on stage because I think it is a very big moment for our community, the Latino community in this country.”
Stopping short of saying they were planning a direct tribute to Bryant, the 18-times NBA All-Star who was killed in the crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others on Sunday, Lopez and Shakira promised a fun, power-packed 12-minute show but wanted to make a point.
“I think this is just affecting everybody so much because it is reminding us, again, how fragile life is and how we have to appreciate every single moment,” Lopez said.
“It can be taken away from us so easily.
“We have to love each other, we have to be together, we have to support each other we can’t be so at odds all the time. That’s part of our mission and our message too.”
Like the Super Bowl commercials, the halftime show is an event unto itself, attracting a stand-alone audience that has no particular interest in the game.
The halftime shows typically feature many of the world’s top-selling artists and last year’s with headliners Maroon 5 attracted nearly 100 million viewers.
The last time the Super Bowl was staged in Miami in 2010 British rock giants The Who topped the bill.
With Miami’s large Latino community and Latin vibe, Shakira and Lopez, performing together for the first time, would appear to be the perfect fit for this year’s Super Bowl.
Lopez, an actress and singer known for hits such as Love Don’t Cost A Thing and If You Had My Love, stars in the movie Hustlers which is generating buzz in Hollywood.
Colombian singer Shakira, a three-times Grammy winner, is one of the world’s best-selling Latin music stars. She found international fame with her 2006 single Hips Don’t Lie.
While the singers offered no hint of any political protest they made it clear their presence on the Super Bowl stage was sending a strong message, particularly to young Latino girls.
“The 49ers and Chiefs are run by women and you’ve got two women heading the halftime show. That statement alone for me is empowering,” Lopez said.
“When I think of my daughter, when I think of all the little girls in the world to see that, two Latinos doing that at this time in our country it is just very empowering.”
-Reuters
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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