Ikoyi Club Hosts Summer Basketball Tournament

Posted : 12 August 2024

The playing hall of the Aerobics and Other Sports Section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Lagos, came alive on Saturday, August 10, 2024, when the first edition of the Junior Summer Basketball Tournament tipped off at the premises of the most prestigious social club in the country.

Declaring the championship open, Vice Chairman of Ikoyi Club 1938, Rufai Ladipo, explained that the tournament was organized to bring young people together, especially during their holidays, to engage in healthy rivalry, meet new friends, share ideas, network, and bond collectively to achieve results.

According to Ladipo, the Chairman of the Aerobics and Other Sports Section of the club, Kikelomo Asuelime, must be commended for the great innovations she has brought to the section since assuming office. He expressed happiness that the section, one of the eight in the prestigious club, chose to organize a basketball tournament to keep youths busy during vacation.

Ladipo also expressed hope that some of the players would later play in the NBA and urged them to be disciplined, embrace the spirit of fair play, and adhere to the rules of the game throughout the tournament.

In her speech, Chairman of the Aerobics and Other Sports Section, Mrs. Kikelomo Asuelime, stated that the competition was organized as their contribution towards developing basketball at the grassroots level and providing young players an opportunity to express themselves on the court. She added that the championship would become an annual event.

She also expressed gratitude to their sponsors, describing them as partners in progress, and appealed to corporate Nigeria to partner with Ikoyi Club to further develop basketball in the country.

"I must express my warmest appreciation to our sponsors for making the tournament successful because, without them, we could not achieve much. Kudos must go to Pocari Sweat, Selly Fak Energy Services Limited, Universal Mccan Limited, and Senforce Insurance Brokers Limited for their support. As we look forward to further support from them in future editions, we also appeal to other corporate organizations to partner with us as we strive to develop basketball at the grassroots level due to the immense benefits the game offers to our youths."

Also speaking, Captain of the section, Mrs. Bolaji Pearse, expressed hope that the tournament would improve players' knowledge of basketball and urged them to stay focused and not lose hope.

"My advice to the players is to remain focused and never lose hope. They should understand that playing poorly in a particular game is not a reason to be discouraged. Instead, they should return to the drawing board, train harder, and make amends for subsequent matches," she stated.

Some of the players who spoke about the tournament—Masters, Chioke Anthony Ikemefuna, Adejare Soketun, Lewis Beake, and a parent, Mrs. Abisoye Soketun—praised the organizers and expressed hope that it would become a regular event.

"We’re really excited about this competition because of the immense benefits it offers to the students, and we look forward to it being an annual event. The tournament has given us the opportunity to fully express ourselves on the court, and we hope that our skills will improve. We appeal to corporate organizations to support Ikoyi Club in their efforts for grassroots sports development," they chorused.

Meanwhile, on Day 1 of the tournament, RangerRockers defeated Ikoyi Team B by a score of 50 to 17, while Whitesand beat Doozy Stars 17-8. The game between Topfield and Provacios ended 26-25 in favor of Topfield.

Eight teams are participating in the round-robin games: RangerRockers, Ikoyi Team A, Ikoyi Team B, AZ Read, Doozy Stars, Provacios, Whitesand, and Top Field.

The tournament will conclude on Friday, August 16, 2024.

Ikoyi Club Hosts Summer Basketball Tournament

ADD A COMMENT :

Hot Topics