The last leg of the 2023 Jordan Nwora Foundation Elite Basketball Camp on the African continent ended on Monday at the Warriors Basketball Academy Courts, Ilupeju, Lagos, with over 300 boys and girls benefitting from the grassroots development programme.

According to the foundation, the event in Lagos came on the heels of successes recorded in similar camps in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire; Accra, Ghana and Onitsha, Anambra State.

The organisers stated that the JNF Basketball event started off with a courtesy visit to the U.S. Embassy a day earlier and followed by the screening of players that had over 300 boys and girls turning up.
[ad]
Wheelchair basketballers also had a swell time at the event, as they were given ample time displaying their skills.

Twenty of the wheelchair basketball players, who played in different games, are preparing for an international engagement.

According to president of the Foundation, Anthony Nwora, “the experience has been heart warming. The kids are developing and the desire to learn is there. We hope to be able to deliver to the kids through the Jordan Nwora Foundation. The excitement and joy on the faces of the kids is priceless.

“This year, the foundation has touched many families through the number of players that have been part of the camps. Come 2024, we hope to get better. We will evaluate what we have done so far and see how best we can improve and keep reaching out through the game of basketball.”

The camp have as coaches, Alex Nwora, Spencer Gervase, Anne O’Neil from the United States of America, who were joined by Chris Nomigo, Synesius Boniface, Dele Simon Awonuga, Simon Evbuomwan, Temi Onyeke, Mary Zidah, Tokunbo Olaosebikan, Gloria Umeh and Titi Adekoya.

Campers were taken through life skills, fundamentals of basketball, evolution of basketball in the World and Africa, as well as clinics for the coaches.

The camp is in conjunction with FIBA Africa Zone Three that have Col. Sam Ahmedu (Rtd.) as president.

Jordan Nwora, a member of Nigeria’s D’Tigers, starred at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019 and the 2020 Olympic Games. Before the Olympic Games, he helped Milwaukee Bucks win the 2021 NBA title.

The former Louisville men’s basketball star is the first Cardinal to win an NBA title since 2002 when Samaki Walker did so with Los Angeles Lakers. It was Milwaukee’s first title since 1974.

On February 9, 2023, Nwora was traded to the Indiana Pacers along with George Hill and Serge Ibaka in a four-team trade involving the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns.

Nwora holds the record for points scored in a single match for Nigeria, scoring 36 points against Mali in 2018, erasing the 31 points of breaking Ike Diogu’s record of 31 points.

Nwora scored a game-high 33 points in a loss to Germany in the preliminary round of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. He led Nigeria in scoring in the tournament after averaging 21 points per game.
[ad]