3×3 basketball: UI wins 6th Propella Male Challenge

On Saturday, the University of Ibadan Basketball Club defeated Beavers Basketball Club 21-17 to win the sixth edition of Propella 3×3 Male Open Challenge at Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Hoop Dreams of Ibadan came third after defeating Better George 21-16.

Speaking after the games, Zakari Momoh, the coach of the University of Ibadan, said his players did a bit well in the competition.

Momoh said their opponents were also not a bad team.

“They are quite experienced because they have competed outside Nigeria. In July, my players were in Uganda, and we came fourth at the African qualifiers.

“The competition is a good one and I see improvements yearly, which is commendable.

“My players are undergraduates, and they tend to forget teachings sometimes.

“Coming for this competition, they didn’t have much time to train together, as this semester is short. It’s just eight weeks.

READ ALSO: Victorious pre-Games U-16 3X3 basketball champions return

“The skills they exhibited today are from what they had acquired over time,” he said.

Tunde Popoola, the convener of the Challenge, also said there had been improvements over the years in both the competition and athletes.

Popoola told NAN that he started with teams strictly in Oyo State with a limited number of elite players who could perform.

“We later extended it to the other parts of South-West and also increased the number of elite players that could participate.

“Now it’s a free competition that is open to everyone, whether in the national league or a rookie.

“With what I witnessed today, I saw tremendous improvements. I saw players who participated in the maiden edition compete today, and some have moved to the national team,” he said.

READ ALSO: WESIE Basketball league will revolutionise women’s basketball in Nigeria-Founder

NAN reports that the annual event was sponsored by Popoola who is the President of Basketball Referees’ Council of Nigeria.

Other clubs that participated in the one-day tournament included Ollysan Basketball Club, Books’ and Ball, The Polytechnic Ibadan, Showtyme Hoopers, and Liberty Spears.

The rest were Vision Sports, Rising Stars, and Ondo Vipers.

NAN reports that out of the 12 participants, eight were from Oyo State, while four were from the other parts of the South-West.

The University of Ibadan got N150,000 as the prize money for winners, while Beavers Basketball Club received N100,000, and Hoop Dreams got N50,000.

NAN reports that Feranmi Babajide won the Most Valuable Player award at the event.