Sheik Gumi Coll lift Milo trophy

In the girl’s category, Queen of the Rosary Secondary School Gboko, Benue State out-dunked Asaba Girls Grammar School, Delta State, 30-11 to be crown champion.

The 3rd place matches saw MW Bristow Secondary School, Gboko, Benue State defeating Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State, 63-46 in the boys category, while the girls of Ikenegbu Girls Secondary School, Owerri, Imo State who had promised that they will not return to their base empty handed bowed to the superior fire power of former champion, Yejide Girls Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, by 32-30 points.

In line with its usual generosity, sponsor of the annual youth basketball event Nestle Nigeria PLC fulfilled its promise and gave out cash prizes of N150,000 to the winning teams, while the 1st and 2nd runners-up got N100,000, and N75,000 respectively.

In addition, each of the winning players was presented with medals. However, the other participants were not left out as they all got certificates of participation.

A pair of basketball uprights was presented to the champions and the first runners-up in both the boys and girls category, according to the sponsors, the up-rights are aimed at sustaining the students’ interest in the game when they return to their respective schools.

It would be recalled that since the 1st edition of the championship in 1999, it has proved to be a veritable platform for the discovery, development and showcasing of young and promising basketball talents at the secondary school level all over Nigeria under the auspices of the Nigerian School Sports Federation (NSSF) and the National Collegiate Sports Foundation (NCSF).

While speaking at the occasion, Iquo Ukoh, Marketing Manager, Nestle Nigeria, expressed satisfaction at the high level of success the championship has recorded while stressing that Nestle will leave nothing undone to make the next edition even more exciting.