It has been thrilling moments inside the Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun stadium, Surulere, Lagos as the maiden D.K Olukoya Girls Basketball championship got underway Monday with pomp and pageantry, fanfare, passion and great expectations.
The national tournament featuring eight teams from across the country features perennial Nigerian Women’s league champion, First Bank basketball club, Inspector General of Police(IGP) Queens, Warrior Amazons and Raptors Girls from Lagos, while War Queens from Sango Ota, Sunshine Queens of Akure and Delta Queens are traveling teams slugging it out with hosts, Mountain of Fire and Miracles Minitries Women Basketball club for honours.
As part of the opening ceremony, ace sports journalist with Supersport, Chisom Mbonu Ezeoke in her motivational speech enjoined all the participants to remain disciplined and believe in the beauty of their dreams as women athletes.
“The possibilities for success is endless, if you work hard and remain undaunted regardless of whatever challenges that you may face in life especially as women in this country”
“Let no one make you feel you can’t achieve whatever dream you set for your self. If you want to be an Olympian the journey to the Olympics starts now” she added.
In the opening match of the tournament coach Adewunmi Aderemi’s MFM Women’s Basketball club won their first game thanks to a resolute hold off of a second half fightback from Warrior Amazons which ended 63-44.
The second day of the D.K Olukoya Girls Basketball Championships featured Delta Queens and IGP Queens at 10am, First Bank battled War Queens at 11:30am, while Sunshine Angels and Raptors locked horns at 1pm on Tuesday at the Molade Okoya Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Here is a picture line up participating teams at the 1st D.K Olukoya Basketball Championship
The championship has been a fanfare of some sort to aspiring future basketball aspirants still in school as various schools in Lagos take their turns at the tournament for a first hand experience.
