Hardrockers win Kimto Memorial Basketball Championship

Hardrockers Basketball Club have won the maiden edition of the Felix Kimto Memorial Basketball Championship.

Hardrockers defeated the Defenders Basketball Club by 63-54 to win the keenly contested final at the Old Parade Ground in Abuja on Sunday.

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In the third-place game also played on Sunday, Nile Spartans defeated Apo Settlers by 75-66 to come third after three days of action.

A total of 12 teams participated in the championship to honour the late Felix Kimto who was murdered on November 4, 2020, in front of the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja.

The championship was organised by the Grinders Basketball Foundation, the team he was playing for before his demise.

Ubon Udoh, the CEO of Hocklock Basketball club said Kimto was murdered on his way from basketball practice.

Speaking about the championship, he said it was an opportunity for basketball players in Abuja to compete amongst themselves having been training for a while without competitions.

“It’s a platform for them to burn that excess energy. We also used the opportunity to transfer some life skills into them like how to stay away from drugs, positive living and leadership training.

“We got players from all the different levels of the game playing here. 16-year-old kids are playing. We also got some premier league players playing as well. We also ensured that a girl is part of each team.

Igoche Mark, the Chief Executive Officer of Mark Mentors said Kimto once played for his team.

He said: “The turnout shows that the players are hungry. We have not had this kind of tournament for a while.”

The first, second and third-placed teams got prize money each.