Nigeria Sports Arena

A new television sport show – Afrobasket Show is due on air fromWednesday 13th January 2016 on Lagos Television, LTV. The 30-minute all basketball television programme will focus on basketball events in Nigeria including the men and women leagues and Nigerian players abroad with in-depth analysis from basketball technocrats. The once in a week show will be aired every Wednesday between 9.30 pm and 10.00pm.   The programme is to bridge the gap in basketball reporting and coverage in Nigeria. The sponsors and advertisers delight programme will have on set every week some of the best minds in the game in Nigeria.

The League board  of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (N.B.B.F) on Saturday released the date for the 2015 Division I and Division II Championships, the feeder leagues for the DStv Premier Basketball League. The Division I championship which is the 2nd tier of club basketball in Nigeria, annually produces the 2 teams that replaces the 2 relegated teams from the DStv Premier League every year. The  tournament is set to hold from the 27th November  to  6th December, 2015, while the Division II championship will take place a few days before the Div-1 battle from jumps off, from the 15th -22nd of November,2015.        The league board who are yet to name host of both championships are still considering bids for the Division I championship by cities Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Port Harcourt, while Enugu and the FC T, Abuja have also shown interest in hosting the Division II championship.   Last season, FCT Rocks and Delta Force gaine...

Director General of the NSC, Mallam Alhassan Yakmut was on hand with NBBF delegation led by its President, Tijjani Umar in a brief send forth for the National U16 Basketball team, as the team is  set to depart for Antananarivo, Madagascar tomorrow for the FIBA Africa U-16 Championships from 10-19th July, 2015. The ceremony which took place at the Indoor Hall of the Abuja National Stadium had the full delegation of 12 players and six officials leaving for the Madagascar capital to battle their contemporaries across the African continent. Mallam Yakmut admonished the players to see themselves as Nigerian Ambassadors and represent Nigerian with pride at the tournament. " It is a great privilege to represent Nigeria at 16, be good Ambassadors of your country. Go all out and do us proud". The NSC Director General further went on to give kudos to the President Tijjani Umar and NBBF  board for relaunching its participation at age grade competitions during his tenure as DG. The...

Chioma Udeaja added FIBA Africa Zone 3 3X3 Tour, most valuable player to her trophy cabinet as she 7 points to lead Nigeria to victory in the championship game in the Lagos FIBA Africa Zone 3 3X3 Tour with a convincing 21-9 points win over  Togo. Nkechi Akashili who also leaved up to her high ratings added 7 points as well while Atosu Upe added 5 points and Sarah Ogoke added  2 points. Captain of Team Nigeria Atosu Upe said she was great fun to God and her teammates for the win. "I thank God and my team mates for the victory". "We are so happy to win this FIBA Africa Zonal championship, we hope tournaments like this continue because it will help the development of basketball in Nigeria". An elated Sarah Ogoke thanked the FIBA Africa Zone 3 leadership for the opportunity to represent Nigeria once again. " It's always a honour and privilege to come home and represent Nigeria in basketball, whether it's 3x3 or 5 on 5. I really want to appreciate the...

Most valuable player of the tournament Stanley Gumut powered Nigeria to victory in the final of the inaugural FIBA Africa Zone 3 3x3 Tour at the national Stadium in Lagos with 9 points and 6 rebounds  as Nigeria beat a stiff opposition from Cote d'ivoire to win 17-13.  Stanley Gumut expressed Joy winning the championship:"I feel great really, it always feels great to be a champion". Yahaya Abdul also came up big in the final minutes scoring 3 of his 5 points hild Azuoma Dike added 3 points to outwit the Ivorian team who lead 9-7 and tied the game 13-13 with less than 2 minutes left. Adje Anouh scored 5 points while Codlibal Abdoul added 4 points in the loss for the Ivorians. "This is a great competition and i hope the organisers will continue because it early helps basketball in Africa". Codibal said. Team Nigeria took home $2000  alongside medals and trophies for victory in the final game while Cote d'ivoire went home with $1000 including medals and Gh...

The battle for qualification to the Final 8 of the Zenith Bank Women's Basketball League in group A went down to point differentials after three teams were tied on 24 points from eight wins and eight losses after the two phases in Abuja and Ilorin which ended on Thursday. Benue Princess narrowly piped AHIP Queens of Kano and Plateau Rocks with a +11 points aggregate differential advantage over Plateau Peaks who had +8 and AHIP Queens with -19 to join Sunshine Angels of Akure, former 4-time champions First Deepwater and unbeaten defending champions First Bank basketball club as the top 4 seeds in the group to seal qualification for the playoffs in Lagos. Group B was more straightforward with back to back league runners up Dolphins clearly leading the pack with a maximum 32 points from 16 games, going unbeaten including a record 127-33 whitewashing of league debutant Zamfara Babes. Joining Dolphins in the playoffs from group B is Customs who lost only to Dolphins in both legs in A...

2013 champions, First Deepwater basketball club of Lagos continued their quest to make the trip to the 2015 Zenith Bank Female Basketball Final 8 in Lagos as they grabbed their 3rd win from 3 games on Thursday  against  the Nigerian Immigrations basketball team by 65-39 points. The Deepwater girls were lead by captain Blessing Emmanuel  who scored 18 points with 5 assists and 5 steal to help give the former champions an 100% record in Ilorin. Second year player, Saidat Ali also added 10 points to join her captain as the only Deepwater player to score double digits and put them in a relatively safe position in the battle for the Final 8.   The  Adolescent Health and Information Project (AHIP) Queens of Kano gave a brave performance against the tough fighting Benue Princess to join the likes of First Bank, First Deepwater, IGP Queens, Delta Force and the Nigerian Customs team with a perfect 3-0, Win - Loss record at the 2nd Phase of the Zenith Bank Female Bask...

Defending champions First Bank basketball club of Lagos put up a masterclass performance as they became the first team to score 90 points in the 2nd phase of the Zenith Bank  Female Basketball League holding at the Ilorin Township Stadium. 4 time league MVP, Nkechi Akashili lead the Elephant girls to a 90-28 points victory over the Ondo based Sunshine Angels, scoring 24 points, shooting  a near excellent 90% from the field. Kenyan Import Lynette Atieno, Chioma Udeaja and T. Elaware all added double digits scoring 11, 14, 14 points respectively to support on the scorers sheet. The champions remain unbeaten this season and are poised to make it 10 straight games as they face the Benue Princess in their next encounter. The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Queens have continued to show championship calibre stuff going on a 7 game winning streak from the first phase. Championing that course is shooting guard  Christiana Issac who has averaged 23.7 points per game in the 3 ...

The Nigerian Basketball Federation's steps to relaunch her youth programmes  got a huge boost during the week following wild card invitation from the International Basketball Federation Africa (FIBA Africa) to be part of the 2015 U16 Men's and Women championship holding in July.   The Nigerian U16 Women's team will participate in the final round of the 4th FIBA Africa U16 Women championship which starts from the 10th-19th July,2015 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. While their male counterparts will participate in the final round of the 5th Africa Nations Junior Championship in Bamako,Mali from 30th July-8th August,2015.   The competition will consolidate the Youth development prospect camps and a chance to showcase the Nigerian basketball talents at the world stage. As the teams placed first and second in the African Championship will qualify for the FIBA U17 World championships fro men and women slated for 25th...

After a dominant 20 points win in the 1st leg on Thursday in Abidjan, the Nigerian Female national team sealed qualification for the 2015 Afrobasket Women/ All African Games later this year with an emphatic 88-43 points win over Cote d’ivoire in the 2nd round match at the Palais du Sport in Abidjan. The D’Tigress was powered  to victory by Uju Ugoka’s 14 points, with captain Helen Ogunjimi and Primeiro Agosto point guard, Sarah Ogoke adding 13 points each in an impressive display on the night that saw the D’Tigress claw past the female Elephants with ease. The Scott Nnaji lead Ladies took charge from the jump ball, taking a 10 points lead in the opening 10 minutes (25-15), then extended their lead to 47-27 at half time . D’Tigress ended any hopes of a comeback for the female Elephants of Cote D’ivoire in the 3rd quarter outscoring them 26-9 to pull up an unassailable 71-36 points lead going into the 4th quarter. Closing the deal with a 1...

-With heavy down pour in Lagos on Saturday, thunder struck twice at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos as the Savannah Conference All Stars won their 2nd straight DStv Premier Basketball league AllStar game, with a flamboyant display of long range shots, Alley hoops and  high octane Slam dunks. Powered by reigning All Star MVP Abubakar Usman’s 31 points off  seven, 3 points shot and Kano Pillars team mate Ibrahim Yusuf’s 18 points including 4 from behind the arc, the Savannah conference All Stars put up a shooting clinic on their way to a 102-66 points victory over the Atlantic conference Allstar team. Despite boasting of the likes of legendary Tunji Awojobi who was limited to just 9points, Ben Uzoh (11points) and William Ndoumbe (9points) all on their roster, the Atlantic conference All Stars were dominated in the 2nd and final quarter (10-26) & (16-30),despite starting with a blast trailing by one (18-19) in the opening quart...

The technical committee in the board meeting on Sunday also placed before the board the bids from Kwara State and Delta State for hosting rights for the 2nd phase of the 2015 Zenith Bank Women Basketball League. With the ancient city of Ilorin hosting the last 2 editions of the 2nd phase of the Zenith Bank female league, the city longs to host the national women's Premier basketball event for the 3rd straight year.  However, there 2015 hosting rights faces tough opposition from one of the strongholds of female basketball in Nigeria, Asaba, Delta state Asaba, perennial hosts of the 2nd phase in the early years of the Zenith league long to get back the rights, having missed out in the last two editions and cities of Akure and Kaduna also playing host of the 2nd phase in times past. The board will announce the host for the 2nd phase as soon as the 1st phase is over following  a close look at the fulfilment of the criteria set by the technical committee for both cities to win t...

With the first phase of the Zenith Bank Female Basketball league ongoing at the national stadium in Abuja, the board of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) sat on Sunday to address major issues brought forward by the technical committee as regards the National domestic leagues and the National team programmes, with far reaching decision made and some already being implemented. After a comprehensive update on both the current DSTV Premier Basketball League and the Zenith Bank basketball league season, major issues pertaining to clubs owing players were brought forward by the technical committee and disciplinary action will be taken against Premier league teams, Oluyole Warriors of Ibadan and Kada Stars of Kaduna for owing their players sign on fees and salaries from last season. The Civil Defenders (Civil Defence team) in the lower league were also in for the NBBF hammer for bringing the game into disrepute by deliberately failing to honour their match against Hoop ‘n...

Christiana Issac, the IGP Queens guard continued her hot shooting form to set a Nigerian Female Basketball league record of 71 points in two nights as she nailed 35 points and 5 assists as the Inspector General of Police Queens powered to an impressive 83-23points win over GT2000 to record their 2nd victory in 4 games at the 2015 Zenith Bank basketball league holding at the National Stadium, Abuja. The Police girls dominated all through taking a 48 points lead into the half time break (50-12), and then outscoring their opponents in the 2nd 36-11 to coast to victory. Nancy Jonathan also added 12 points and 4 assists for the IGP Queens as they get set to observe their break tomorrow. In other results from Tuesday, former 4 times champions, First Deepwater held on to a 3 points victory after a fierce fight back from Benue Princess to win 40-37. While experienced Delta Force powered by Uchechi Agbotan's 22 points and Esther Igben's double double -17 points and 12 rebounds ensured...

By Oluwafemi Adefeso Having successfully qualified to defend her All African Games title in Congo Brazzaville, and also an opportunity to vie for a place at the 2016 Rio Olympics by qualifying for the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship in Tunisia come August. The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has received thumbs up from National Sports commission (NSC) for her recent accomplishments following a meeting between the hierarchy of the Basketball Federation and the Director General of the National Sports commission, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye. President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Mr Tijjani Umar, disclosed after the meeting which was held in Abuja that the impressed NSC DG immediately requested the Nigerian Basketball Federation to submit her national programmes to the Sports commission to ensure Basketball receives optimum support to succeed in the various competitions leading to the Olympics.  “We’ve set a huge precedence in qualification for the 2016 Rio Oly...

By Oluwafemi Adefeso Having successfully qualified to defend her All African Games title in Congo Brazzaville, and also an opportunity to vie for a place at the 2016 Rio Olympics by qualifying for the 2015 FIBA Africa Championship in Tunisia come August. The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has received thumbs up from National Sports commission (NSC) for her recent accomplishments following a meeting between the hierarchy of the Basketball Federation and the Director General of the National Sports commission, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye. President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Mr Tijjani Umar, disclosed after the meeting which was held in Abuja that the impressed NSC DG immediately requested the Nigerian Basketball Federation to submit her national programmes to the Sports commission to ensure Basketball receives optimum support to succeed in the various competitions leading to the Olympics.  “We’ve set a huge precedence in qualification for the 2016 Rio Olym...

The Nigeria Basketball Federation has announced April 23rd as the jumpball for the first phase of the Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League season. The new date is sequel to the conclusion of the general elections which necessitated the postponement of the Women’s League in the first place. The championship traditional first phase which will take place at the indoor sports hall of  the National Stadium Package ‘B’ Abuja will see the likes of Customs, FCT Queens, Benue Princess,  Plateau Rocks, Delta Force, AHIP Queens, Coal City Queens, Oluyole Babes, GT-2000, Immigration, IGP Queens and Taraba Hurricanes wrestle power houses Sunshine Angels, First Deepwater, Dolphins and defending champions First Bank for the 2015 title. The teams are expected to arrive Abuja on Thursday, 23rd, ahead of the technical meeting on the 24th of April as action is set to resume on  Saturday, 25th April till May 4th.

The Nigerian senior male national basketball team, the D'Tigers have been pitted against former champions and host Tunisia in Group A at the draws for the 2015 FIBA Africa Basketball Championship which took place at the Carthage Acropolium in Tunis on Saturday.  The D'Tigers who are now the 3rd ranked team in Africa( 24th on the FIBA World rankings) will be hoping to roar past  no 4 ranked Tunisia, who last won the competition in 2011. Also seeded in the group is a little known Uganda who are making their debut  at the continental showpiece and the 1st of 3 wild card teams which will be announced at the end of April by FIBA Africa.  The tournament which will be held from 19-30 August in the Tunisian cities of Nabeul and Tunis will serve as a qualifying event for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. In Group B, defending champions Angola who will be gunning for their 12th title under the tutelage of new but experienced coach Moncho Lopez , will battle against Mozambique, M...

Atlantic Conference Oluyole Warriors 78-70 Kwara Falcons Union Bank 54-59 Lagos Islanders Customs 60-55 Delta Force Dodan Warriors 61-42 Police Batons Savannah Conference Bauchi Nets 45-77 M.Mentors Kano Pillars 70-64 Gombe Bulls Peaks 60-52 Immigration Kada Stars vs FCT Rocks Postponed. (Force Majeure)

The Nigeria Basketball Federation says it will continue to promote basketball development from the grass root in all the geo-political zones, to this end the Federation will be giving technical support to the forth-coming annual Samuel Oguche youth Basketball Camp which is billed for Abuja in the month of May.   The famed summer basketball camp for youths which has been held in many cities across the world since 2007, is scheduled to commence on May 18th to 22nd in the city of Abuja.   Ex-basketball international Samuel Oguche, Founder and organizer of the yearly event hinted that all arrangements have been made by the foundation to ensure a hitch-free camp.   “This year’s camp will feature exposure to the rudiments of basketball and basketball drilling to be handled by experienced and national team coaches with world class training facilities; motivational speeches by successful individuals and sports icons as well as career talk and mentoring on having s...