Basketball

UNBEATEN D’TIGERS TO FACE MALI IN 2021 AFROBASKET QUALIFIERS

Published

4 years ago

February 18, 2021

Nigeria continued its dominance on the continent with another emphatic 64-51pts win over Rwanda at the ongoing 2021 FIBA Afrobasket qualifiers in Tunisia.

The win which was hard fought came on the heel of a solid defensive display in the second half against a stubborn Rwandan team who led for the better part of the game.

It was all about Keith Omoerah who led the scorers chart scoring 13pts and 6 rebounds while debutant Abdul-Malik Abu came off the bench to contribute 9pts, 3rebs and 1 steal as D’Tigers reaffirmed its dominance on the continent.

Rwanda who will be hosting the next Afrobasket came out smoking in the first half outscoring Nigeria 22-14, 9-16 to head into half time with a 31-30pts advantage.

D’Tigers turned up the heat and brought their experience to bare in the second half with some impressive defensive and offensive work to neutralize their opponent (14-10, 20-10) and close out the game.

Chima Moneke continued his fairytale run with the team scoring 8pts, 8 rebounds and 4 steals while Ike Iroegbu dropped 9pts and caught 7 rebounds.

In his post-match conference, stand-in Head Coach, Mfon Udofia praised his team for their resilience.

He told journalists that the victory was a pointer to the overall quality of the team with the bench contributing a total of 3 points and 8 assists.

“It’s a tale of two halves. We came out after a slow start; we picked it up, settled down, got stops and got the win.”

One of the most experienced players in the team, Ben Uzoh said he never expected Rwanda to just roll over and give the team an easy passage.

“Everytime we take to the court, especially here in Africa, everybody wants to give us their best shots. Hats off to the way Rwanda played in the first half, but hats off more for us to regroup during the half time and come out to really play Nigerian basketball. I am glad we came out victorious”.

With the 2021 Afrobasket ticket already secured, Nigeria sits pretty atop group B and will face Mali on Friday with a win as top priority in its quest to conclude the series unbeaten.

Basketball

Musa Kida moves from the basketball boardroom to NNPC Towers

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2025

Kunle Solaja

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

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2025

Kunle Solaja

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

Published

1 month ago

February 24, 2025

Kunle Solaja

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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