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Delta State teams clinches median S’-South Zone Basketball 3X3 Tour

By Alex Monye
25 December 2015   |   2:42 am
DELTA State Men and Women teams have emerged winners of the first edition of the South-South Zone Basketball 3X3 Tour hosted in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

basketball-bilder.posterDELTA State Men and Women teams have emerged winners of the first edition of the South-South Zone Basketball 3X3 Tour hosted in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

In the men’s category of the final Tour, Bulls of Delta were in spectacular form beating Soul Ballers of Cross River State 12-7 to claim the top prize of N100, 000. Delta again was winners in the women’s categort as Team Ogor defeated Rivers Angels 16-14 in overtime.

In the U-18 boys category host team, DA-F Academy defeated Blazzers of Cross River 14-11 to be crowned champions, while in the girls category , Patriots of Bayelsa were winners over Impressions Academy of Delta State in a game that ended 11-9.

The event which attracted dignitaries from around the country including the Youth and Sports Minister Solomon Dalung who was represented by a director in the sports ministry, Yemi Oshikaye; Commander, Nigeria Army Corps of Infantry, Gen Shehu Yusuf who is also the patron of the Friends of Basketball, Giwa Daramola, of the Navy Sailing Club, Lagos, Charles Udo of Ecobank, Calabar, Ivo Owan among others was also a forum for Basketball administrators to discuss issues on how to move the dunking game forward in the country.

The sponsor of the Tour and representative of the South South Zone on the board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Engr. Musa Kida expressed joy at the turn out of youths from the Zone who came out em masse to be part of the event.

“One of the major objectives of establishing the office of the Zonal Representative for each Zone is to ensure that men and women champions in the grass roots are monitored and developed. This has been the focus of the South – South Basketball Advisory Committee which was established prior to commencement of the Metro Basketball League in 2004. The experience of the Metro Basketball League has indeed put us in good light as we plan the development of basketball in the Zone. From the MBL, we have now embraced the 3×3 project, the latest trend introduced by FIBA across the globe.

He added “The essence of the 3 x 3 event, is that it provides avenue for participants to improve their skills and confidently gain leadership qualities through athletic performance. It also helps the athlete to acquire leadership qualities and education while imbibing cultural values. We consider it a veritable tool to assist the development of our youths in that direction’’

The South – South Zone 3×3 is organized in fulfilment of the cardinal objective of empowering youths with emphasis on grassroots development. The tournament which is the first of its kind across any Sporting Zone in Nigeria is sponsored mainly by AMK Foundation founded by interested Basketball lovers to develop grassroots sports and other related programmes in Nigeria.

To ensure that this event is not a one off, AMK Foundation purchased two full State of the Art Portable Outdoor Synthetic Courts and a Turbo Charged 48 foot Truck to transport the requisite equipment for the development of basketball across the South – South Zone, Nigeria and Africa at large.”

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