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<\/p>\n*12 teams ready for glory<\/p>\n
For the 26th\u00a0\u00a0consecutive year, Nestl\u00e9 Nigeria is putting secondary school basketball at the centre of the national conversation and Lagos will feel it this weekend with\u00a0 12 schools\u00a0 battling for glory, reports\u00a0MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.<\/p>\n
Twelve teams \u2014 six boys\u2019 sides, six girls\u2019 sides \u2014 drawn from across Nigeria\u2019s four regional conferences descend on Lagos \u00a0from tomorrow y, 27 June, for the national finals of the Nestl\u00e9 Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship, one of the longest-running grassroots sports development platforms on the continent.<\/p>\n
A press conference and draw ceremony held in Lagos on Wednesday laid out the stakes: defending champions Father O\u2019Connell Science College of Niger State headline the boys\u2019 draw, while six formidable girls\u2019 sides \u2014 some making their first-ever appearance at this stage \u2014 promise the kind of drama that has made the championship a fixture on the Nigerian school sports calendar.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should expect a similar experience,\u201d Nigerian School Sports Federation (NSSF) President Mrs. Bisi Joseph said, recalling the heart-stopping moments that characterised this year\u2019s regional conferences. \u201cFor the match between Katsina and Adamawa, we were almost on our feet all through \u2014 we witnessed matches that ended at the last second with one point winning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The numbers behind the championship tell a story of remarkable scale. MILO Category Manager at Nestl\u00e9 Nigeria, Gilbert Tweneboah-Koduah, told Wednesday\u2019s gathering that since its founding in 1999, the platform now reaches more than 30,000 schools annually. This year\u2019s edition alone drew 13,256 registered schools, according to Mrs. Joseph, each competing for the right to represent their region in Lagos.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt Nestl\u00e9 Nigeria, our core purpose is to unlock the power of food to enhance the quality of life for everyone, both today and for generations to come,\u201d Tweneboah-Koduah said. \u201cSupporting the growth and development of children through grassroots platforms like the Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship is one of the primary ways we bring this commitment to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boladale Odunlami, Nestl\u00e9\u2019s commercial manager, who stood in for the company\u2019s managing director at the event, said the ambition driving the championship has only deepened over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a platform where young Nigerians can discover their talent, build confidence and develop the values needed to become champions both on and off the court,\u201d Odunlami said. \u201cOver the years, that ambition has grown into dynamic partnerships and collaboration with sports stakeholders \u2014 bringing together young athletes, schools, coaches, teachers and families across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Tweneboah-Koduah, the championship\u2019s most powerful testament is the careers it helped launch. He cited Precious Achonwa, Chimezie Metu and Oluchi Ogbu as among the players who emerged from the Milo platform to compete internationally.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeyond the trophies, what matters most is the confidence these young people gain from discovering that they are capable of achieving more than they ever imagined,\u201d Tweneboah-Koduah said. \u201cWhen a young person unlocks their potential, that impact extends far beyond the basketball court \u2014 influencing how they approach their education, future careers and their broader contribution to society.\u201d<\/p>\n
Odunlami, reflecting on the journey from the regional stages to Lagos, struck a similar note.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBehind each performance lies the journey behind everything \u2014 the countless hours of practice before and after school, the coaches who continue to guide these young athletes, the teachers and parents who provide support, and the players who learn that progress comes through consistency, teamwork and resilience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Joseph said what makes the 26th\u00a0\u00a0edition particularly significant is the emergence of states that have never before reached the national finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have new states coming on board,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have Katsina coming to the finals; we have Ekiti coming to the finals. And even at the conference level, we had the likes of Taraba playing at the finals, which is unusual. It shows the extent of growth that we have in the Nestl\u00e9 Milo Basketball Championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was equally effusive about the return of established powers. \u201cGovernment Secondary School, Gboko used to win back-to-back and even represented Nigeria at international school events,\u201d Joseph said, \u201cand we are happy that they are back this time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NSSF president was emphatic that the teams arriving in Lagos carry more than school pride on their shoulders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese teams are no longer representing just their school, and not just their state \u2014 they are representing their region,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it is expected that they will play hard, play fair, and the best team will emerge as champion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The championship\u2019s reach extends beyond the able-bodied. Olusola Okanlawon, representing the National Association of Special Educators (NASET), told the press conference that the organisation remains a committed partner to Nestl\u00e9 Nigeria in using sport to showcase the abilities of students with disabilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is ability in disability,\u201d Okanlawon said, pointing to the example of Temitope Victoria, a former championship participant who went on to compete at the Paralympic Games. \u201cWe will continue to partner with Nestl\u00e9 Nigeria PLC to showcase the talent of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n
NSSF Secretary Dr. Funsho Oba Usman said the championship is deliberately designed to enrich participants beyond what happens on the court, with coaching clinics and mentorship sessions built into the programme. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe equally have the educational moment where we have ex-internationals to talk to the children, to mentor them,\u201d Dr. Usman said. \u201cEducation is as important as the sport they are getting. So, this is part of the things we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mrs. Joseph had a direct message for every player making the trip to Lagos.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou are champions already,\u201d she said. \u201cThe values that you take away from participating in this event already make you a champion. The fact that you are now at the National Finals already makes you a champion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tweneboah-Koduah closed with a note that captured the spirit Nestl\u00e9 says has defined the championship across 26 editions.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo every young athlete competing: whether or not you lift the trophy, the habits you build, the friendships you form, and the values you embrace here will shape your future long after this tournament concludes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The championship is supported by the Nigerian School Sports Federation, the Nigerian Basketball Federation, the Nigeria Collegiate Sports Federation, and federal and state ministries of Education, Youth and Sports.<\/p>\n
THE TEAMS:<\/p>\n
The 12 finalists qualified through four regional conferences.<\/p>\n
Savannah Conference: Family Support Programme Secondary School, Katsina (boys) and Government Secondary School, Zing, Taraba State (girls).<\/p>\n
Central Conference: Father O\u2019Connell Science College, Niger State (boys, defending champions) and Government Secondary School, Gboko, Benue State (girls).<\/p>\n
Atlantic Conference: King Amakree Academy, Rivers State (boys) and St. Jude Girls Secondary School, Bayelsa State (girls).<\/p>\n
Western Conference: Davidhall International College, Lagos State (boys) and Ado Grammar School, Ekiti State (girls).<\/p>\n
Wildcards: FCT Abuja and Delta State qualified as best runners-up in the boys\u2019 category while Urhobo College, Effurun (Delta State) and Lanlereke Academy, Osun State took the girls\u2019 spots.<\/p>\n
MATCHDAY 1:\u00a0 SATURDAY, 27 JUNE<\/p>\n
Game 1 (Girls):Lanlereke Academy vs. St. Jude Girls Secondary School \u2014 13:00<\/p>\n
Game 2 (Girls): Ado Grammar School vs. Urhobo College, Effurun \u2014 14:30<\/p>\n
Game 3 (Boys): Father O\u2019Connell Science College vs. King Amakree Academy \u2014 16:00<\/p>\n
Game 4 (Boys):Davidhall International College vs. Family Support Programme Secondary School \u2014 17:30\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"*12 teams ready for glory For the 26th\u00a0\u00a0consecutive year, Nestl\u00e9 Nigeria is putting secondary school basketball at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":92430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[126],"tags":[4512,199],"class_list":["post-92429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nestle","tag-milo","tag-nestle"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116814505917246457","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}