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The Indoor Sports Hall of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, was thrown into a loud state of excitement when the final whistle blew to put an end to the Equatorial Conference of the 2017 Milo Basketball Championship as Ebonyi’s St. Augustine’s Seminary, Ezzamgbo defeated Bayelsa’s Belary Schools, Yenegoa, 31 – 20. Widely excited fans and basketball lovers lifted the winning team’s coach, Rev. Fr. Donatus Ofuluozor, into the air just before the team was presented with the trophy, cheque of N100, 000.00 and Milo products.
The female category was won by Bayelsa’s St. Jude’s Girls Secondary School, Amarata, after defeating Imo’s Holy Rosary International College, Owerri, 22 – 5, also carting away with a trophy, cash prize of N100, 000.00 and Milo products. The third place for male and female categories was won by Community Secondary School, Pabod, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State and Marist Comprehensive College, Nteje, Anambra State, respectively
Currently in the Conference Stages, the 2017 Milo Basketball Championship had concluded the Central Conference in Abuja where nine States in the North participated and the Confluence Conference in Lokoja where another nine States in some parts of the North Central and some parts of the North participated, before the Equatorial Conference in Enugu began. Nine States from the South East and South South also participated in the Equatorial Conference and they are Enugu, Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Cross-River, Ebonyi, Imo and Anambra.
The game was flagged off by the Enugu State Commissioner of Youth and Sports, Hon. Charles Ndukwe, while also commending Nestle Nigeria Plc, sponsors of the Milo Basketball Championship, for their commitment towards the development of grassroots sports. Also in attendance was the Chairman of Enugu State Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB), Barr. Nestor Ezeme, who also commended Nestle Milo for the consistent effort in the development of basketball in Nigeria.
The Coach of the winning Ebonyi team, who also doubles as the school’s principal, Rev. Fr. Ofuluozor, beamed with excitement as his team look forward to a worthwhile National Finals, which will be holding from 11th to 17th June 2017 at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos. Himself a basketball player, he said the annual Milo Basketball Championship has helped to keep focus during training. “I have to commend Milo for helping basketball teams in Nigeria to develop. The competition has helped my school in the development of basketball teams. Without the competition, maybe we would not have been this focused,” he said.
While St. Augustine’s Seminary, on behalf of Ebonyi, produced the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the male category, the school has won the State Finals since 2005, won the regional finals six times since 2010 before winning the 2017 edition, won third place at the National Finals in 2010, won 2nd place at the National Finals in 2011, and won the National Finals in 2012.
The MVP for the female category emerged from the St. Jude’s Girls Secondary School, Amarata. The school will be representing Bayelsa in the female category of the National Finals where they are looking forward to a great outing, as the team has a record-breaking standard of practising basketball every morning and evening in Amarata.
