Basketball
TIGER WOODS SAYS HE’S STILL IN SHOCK OVER KOBE BRYANT’S DEATH
More than two weeks after Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, Tiger Woods is among those who find the shock may have worn off but disbelief remains.
“It’s hard to put into words what transpired and the fact that it’s a reality,” 15-time major golf champion Woods said on Tuesday (Feb 11) at Riviera Country Club, where he is preparing to tee off on Thursday in the Genesis Invitational.
“Part of me thinks that it’s not real.”
The 41-year-old Bryant, a retired NBA legend with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among nine people killed in the Jan 26 crash in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles.
They were on their way to a girls’ basketball tournament at Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy in suburban Thousand Oaks – not far from Sherwood Country Club, which hosted Woods’s Hero World Challenge tournament for years.
Woods learned of Bryant’s death just after he completed his final round at Torrey Pines that Sunday.
The 15-time major champion, who said he grew up a “diehard Lakers fan,” noted that he turned pro the same year that Bryant was drafted into the NBA to start a 20-year career that would include five titles with the Lakers.
“I don’t really know what I said post-round,” Woods said on Tuesday.
“I was in shock just like everyone else, trying to put it in words going forward.”
“The reality of the situation is Kobe and Gigi are not here, but it’s hard to accept,” Woods continued.
“People who are close him and all the families, it’s just hard to accept that reality.”
Bryant’s widow, Vanessa, has announced a public “celebration of life” for Kobe, Gianna and the other crash victims will be held on Feb 24 at Staples Centre arena.
The date – 2-24-20 – honours the jersey numbers 2 and 24 worn by Gianna and Bryant and the 20 years Bryant was in the NBA.
But even as such plans go forward, Vanessa Bryant took to Instagram on Monday to express her own struggle to come to terms with her family’s loss.
“My brain refuses to accept that both Kobe and Gigi are gone,” she wrote.
“I can’t process both at the same time. It’s like I’m trying to process Kobe being gone but my body refuses to accept my Gigi will never come back to me. It feels wrong… I’m so mad. She had so much life to live.”
-AFP
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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