The NBA Africa VP and Country Head of Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu has said the association is determined to influence the basketball ecosystem in Nigeria.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 9th edition of the Power Forward programme at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Abudu said NBA is creating a pathway to develop more basketballers from Nigeria.
“We have the Basketball Africa League. We have started and it’s creating a pathway for Nigerians to play if that is the path they decide to choose,” she said.
Speaking further, she said the Power Forward, a youth development initiative of ExxonMobil, NBA Africa and the international NGO PanAfricare has trained 40 FCT schools with basketball, life skills
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“We know that not everyone is going to become a basketball player, but the life skills that are instilled in kids that play basketball, whether it is communication skills or team coordination, aligns with the economic future of work skills.
“In the past years, the programme has been focused in Abuja and the 200,000 youths are within FCT but the plan is to expand this to other geo-political zones in Nigeria,” she said.
Meanwhile, Karu Lakers defeated GSS Garki 21-13 to emerge winners in the male category while GSS Karu defeated Raberto Secondary School 33-9 to emerge winners in the female category.
By Jide Olusola and Ojoma Akor
