Basketball
NIGERIAN-BORN ANTETOKOUNMPO, MILWAUKEE BUCKS MAINTAIN DOMINANCE OVER DETROIT PISTONS IN NBA
All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo piled up 33 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and three steals as the Milwaukee Bucks continued their dominance of the Detroit Pistons with a 126-106 victory in the National Basketball Association on Thursday (Feb 20).
The Bucks, who own the league’s best record, have defeated the Pistons 11 consecutive times, including the post-season. Milwaukee are 3-0 against Detroit this season after sweeping the four-game season series a year ago and sweeping their Central Division rivals again in the first round of the playoffs.
Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton contributed 28 points and eight rebounds. Eric Bledsoe had 19 points and six assists, and Brook Lopez tossed in 18 points for the victors.
The Bucks, who have won 15 of their past 17 games, will conclude the season series against Detroit on March 23 at Milwaukee.
Christian Wood led the Pistons with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Bruce Brown had 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Derrick Rose and Langston Galloway scored 12 points apiece, Thon Maker added 11 points, and Tony Snell had 10.
The Pistons, who play their next four games on the road against Western Conference teams, have lost five straight.
Antetokounmpo had 19 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals in the first half as Milwaukee rolled to a 70-41 half-time lead. Middleton supplied 20 points as the Bucks committed just one turnover during the half while the Pistons made 11, leading to 14 Milwaukee points.
Antetokounmpo had 10 points and eight rebounds during the first eight minutes, and the Bucks led 32-18 after the first quarter.
When Bledsoe drained a three-pointer just over a minute into the second quarter, Milwaukee’s lead was up to 38-18. Middleton’s three-pointer with 6min 48sec left in the half increased the Bucks’ advantage to 49-23.
Lopez scored inside late in the half to increase Milwaukee’s lead to 28. A Middleton three-pointer soon made it 68-39.
Bledsoe made a three-pointer in the first two minutes of the second half to give Milwaukee a 30-point cushion.
Antetokounmpo threw down a couple of dunks in the first three minutes of the second half as Milwaukee stretched their lead to 31 points.
The Bucks were up 98-71 after three quarters.
-Reuters
Musa Kida, the president of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), has been appointed as a non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the country’s apex oil company. His appointment is part of the sweeping overhaul that the Nigerian president, Bola Tinubu made in the first working day after the Sallah break.
The sacking of the board of the NNPC sees the appointment of Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the new Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), replacing Mele Kolo Kyari. Prior to his current appointment, Kida was the Deputy Managing Director, Deep Water Services, of Total Nigeria.
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Basketball
NSC DG Bukola Olopade Congratulates NBBF Boss Musa Kida for new appointment as NNPC Chairman
The Director General of the National Sports Commission NSC, Bukola Olopade, has congratulated the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Musa Kida, for his appointment as the new Board Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Olopade said Musa Kida has been one of Nigeria’s most efficient and Productive Sports administrators who has sacrificed a lot for the growth of Nigerian Basketball.
The DG maintained that his latest appointment is a testament to his years of passion, hard work, dedication and a very successful track record in the oil sector for more than two decades.
” Musa Kida is an accomplished administrator whose achievements cut across both the oil sector and Nigerian basketball. I have no doubt that the NNPC Limited will attain better efficiency and attract more investment under his watch”.
” Under his leadership as the President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, we have seen the steady growth of the country’s basketball and how the National teams have continued to achieve new heights.
” At the last Olympic Games in France, the Nigeria Women’s Basketball team, D’Tigress was one of the shining stories for Team Nigeria, where they set a new record by making it to the knockout phase before losing to the United States”.
” I personally know the efforts behind the scenes that kida put in for Nigeria to achieve that feat with the girls in France and the Nigerian girls have been an unrivalled team on the continent for some time now”.
The DG added that he does not doubt that Musa Kida will use his new position to further earnest the development of Nigerian Sports especially basketball especially now that there is a new focus on growing a sustainable Sports Economy.
” Whilst the Oil sector will benefit immensely from the Expertise of Musa Kida as the new Board Chairman of the NNPC Limited, Mr President, has further helped to place Nigerian Sports in a better pedestal by putting one of us in a very strategic place like the NNPC”, he concluded.
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Basketball
FIBA names Nigeria’s Agada among those who starred the most on the last day of the 2025 AfroBasket Qualifiers
The 16 teams that will be competing at this year’s FIBA AfroBasket from 12-24 August have been confirmed, with some teams securing their places on the final day of qualifying.
A quintet of individuals put in stellar performances to send their teams to this year’s African championship in style.
Teams have 169 days to prepare for the 2025 edition of the AfroBasket set to be hosted by former champions Angola, who will be chasing a record-extending 12th title.
FIBA- Africa looked at the matches and the players and featured nine players who were the stars of the final day on Sunday.
Here is FIBA’s analysis: The return of the Tokyo Olympian has been a blessing for Abdulrahman Mohammed’s Nigeria.
For the second game in a row, Agada was a thorn in their side’s side, scoring 23 points in a convincing 77-62 win over 2021 AfroBasket semifinalists Cape Verde.
The 30-year-old played just over 30 minutes and finished two rebounds shy of a double-double while adding six assists and five steals for an efficiency rating of 29.
Nigeria entered the competition after an 0-3 start, but his disruptive presence on the floor helped them to a 3-0 run to qualify, averaging 19 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The other players highlighted are: Ousmane Drame of Guinea, Karim Maneof Senegal, Childe Dundao of Angola, Siriman Kanoute of Mali, as well as Ntore Habimana (Rwanda) Aliou Fadiala Diarra (Mali) Allan Dokossi (Central African Republic)and Nisre Zouzoua (Cote d’Ivoire)
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