It
was the season of his birthday and congratulatory messages and felicitations
were been written, posted and placed visibly and personally to celebrate Delta
State’s Number three citizen, but typically, Rt. Hon Victor Onyekachi Ochei,
fnse, choose to first of all fulfill a passion which has now become synonymous
with his humanitarian persona, a passion to embrace and rejoice with the
physically challenged in the now annual Victor Ochei wheel-chair Basket Ball
Championship.
This was the second edition of the novel tourney and following
from the first edition which was successfully hosted in Asaba, the Speaker’s
domain, this second edition was taken to the Lagos, the Centre for Excellence
and what a great tournament it turned out to be.
First, the popularity of the wheel-chair Basket Ball Tournament
had grown in leaps and bounds after the hugely successful maiden edition
in Asaba and this was translated in the national and sub-regional requests for
participation for the second edition.
As the stage was gradually set for the 2nd edition of the Sir
Victor Ochei Wheelchair Basketball Championship, three West African countries;
Togo, Benin Republic and Ghana confirmed their desire to participate at the
championship scheduled to run between 18th-23rd February, 2013, at the Indoor
Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The technical director, Wheelchair Basketball Federation of
Nigeria, (WBFN),Tamuno Adoki, while speaking on the championship, further
disclosed that in addition to the foreign participating countries, the
tournament would also attract wheelchair Basketball teams and clubs from all
states of the federation.
Thus it was that when the roll call was done at the beginning of
the tourney, twelve states, namely: Lagos, Oyo, Ondo, Delta, Ogun, Bayelsa,
Edo, Rivers, Imo, Kwara, Niger and Kaduna, were already on the touch line
rearing to wheel into the court and commence slam dunking action.
Feelers from the organizers revealed that only last minute
unforseen technical and logistic issues had prevented the other states
contingents from swelling the number of teams and clubs for this second edition
of the tournament.
Of course, the stakes were high too, for apart from the fun and
competitive sense of belonging which the physically challenged athletes would
relish, the championship was also going to attract N5m as prize money and the
winner of the championship will go home with N2m, the second place team gets
N1.5m and the third placed team pocketsN1million, while the remaining 500,000
naira would be shared among the best behaved team, best player, and best
dressed team among others.
And so the tournament swung into gear with a round robin schedule,
which saw the participating teams play two matches each in the preliminary
rounds.
Thus it was that after winning all the two matches they had
played in the prelims, the usual suspects, Delta and Lagos states teams
qualified for the quarter final of the tournament.
Team Lagos coached by Ayinde Balogun and captained by
Australia-based Tope Ogunyemi had defeated Benin Republic in their first match
and then whitewashed their opponents from Benue State 72points -1 points.
Team Delta State on the other hand defeated the team from
Bayelsa state, before pummeling Togo 48 points – 7 points.
Team Edo defeated Ogun, while Imo defeated Taraba in some
of the other preliminary matches.
However, Team Lagos left no one in doubt as to their intention
to win the 2nd Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei International wheelchair basketball
championship when it put up another vintage performance against Kwara in the
quarter-final match despite having some their top players on the bench as they
humiliated their hapless opponent with a convincing 59 to 2 points victory and
secured a place in the semi-final.
In other quarter-final matches, defending champions, Delta state
defeated Ghana team 44 – 17 and Benin Republic recorded a win over Imo
state with a 15 to 12 points victory, while Team Edo state beat Bayelsa 18 – 4.
Delta then faced Benin Republic, the only remaining
international team in the championship, in the first semi-final while
Lagos battled Edo in the second semi finals.
The final was a cracking game between the same two finalist in
the first edition, Lagos and Delta both of who had despatched their opponents
Edo and Benin Republic in the semi Finals.
At the end of a pulsating, action packed game, Lagos State
Wheelchair basketball team provided a five-star performance to dethrone former
champion Delta State by 40-29 points and lift the second edition of Hon. Victor
Ochei International Wheelchair Championship trophy, at the indoor sports hall
of the National Stadium, Sururlere, Lagos.
The key man for Team-Lagos was France-based swingman Lukman
Ibrahim who won three of the four quarters while it drew level with Delta State
in one of the quarters (09-04, 13-11, 09-09 and 09- 05), to emerge champion.
This victory was sweet revenge for Team Lagos, after losing the
maiden edition to Delta State at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Asaba Stadium.
It was also sweeter because it was achieved on home soil just like Delta did in
2012.
In that maiden edition, Delta as host state, had defeated Lagos
by 32 -11 points to emerge the champion while Edo out-stroked Oyo 36 -2 points
to place third.
Spectators at the end of the tourney unanimously agreed that
apart from playing beautiful basketball, Team Lagos was adjudged as arguably
the most colourful in the international tournament which also had the national
teams of Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic competing.
The association chairman ascribed the feat to support received
from the Lagos state government through the Ministry of youth sports and social
development.
For winning the championship, the Lagos team went home with a
cash prize of N2m, while the Delta team got N1.5m for their efforts. Team Edo
state placed third once again after beating their opponents from Benin Republic
and got a cash prize of N1m
A Team Lagos’ player, Ahmed Ogunbona, was adjudged as the most
valuable player (MVP) and the highest pointer of this year’s tourney. He was
given the sum of N500, 000 with a new wheelchair.
Twelve states of the federation took part in the grassroots
sports competition, while Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic were international
teams that featured in the tourney.
Coach of Team Lagos, Ayinde Balogun, who took Team Oyo to the
first edition last year, said that the support they received from their teeming
fans motivated them to the final where they dethroned the defending champions,
Team Delta.
“We will like to dedicate this victory to all our fans that
ensured that we were not alone in this tournament despite the fact that we
started on a slow pace in the beginning of the competition. We are really proud
of them because we never knew we could enjoy so much support from Lagosians
despite the fact that the championship is being hosted in Lagos for the first
time.
“We also want to thank the Lagos State government, through the
Office of the Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Social Development headed by
Enitan Osodi for the moral and financial support they gave to us,” said coach
Balogun, who is fondly called ‘Ashana Pro’.
Meanwhile, in its bid to reward the victorious Team Lagos for
their triumph, the Lagos State government has promised to purchase 10 new
modern wheelchairs for the team. This was disclosed by the Commissioner for
Sports, Osodi, while congratulating Team Lagos for their success.
The president of the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of
Nigeria, Mr. Bukola Olopade, also expressed his delight on the success of the
competition.
Olopade was full of commendations for the sponsor and the Lagos
State government for accepting to host the championship, even as noted with
delight that the standard of the event was better than the maiden edition held
last year.
The event also had its own fair share of pomp and razz matazz
with the Koko master himself, Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo, fondly called D’banj
providing high wire entertainment which got both the players and spectators
rolling on their wheel-chairs and seats with popular tracks like Oliver Twist
and D’banj abia la.
D’banj then commended the physically challenged players that
participated at the Championship saying that he was impressed by their
performance, even as he added that the annual tourney has proved that there is
indeed ‘ability in disability’.
He also commended the sponsor of the tourney, the Speaker of
Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei for funding the
competition.
“I am really impressed to see our physically challenged athletes
being given an opportunity to compete against each other in the game of
basketball. This is really an eye opener for me and hopefully, when next year
they are hosting this championship I would be there to contribute my quota to
the growth of the sport,” he said.
The Koko master then had words of praise for the organizers for
bringing the tourney to Lagos State, adding that the performance of all the
teams have shown that with enough funding and regular competitions, Nigeria can
win medals in wheelchair basketball in international tourneys in the nearest
future.
The success of the second edition of the Hon. Ochei Wheelchair
Basketball championship, prompted the governor of Lagos State, governor
Babatunde Fashola who was represented at the finals by the Commissioner for
Sports, promise that the state will single handedly sponsor the national U-23
team to the 2013 Africa Championship coming up in South Africa later in the
year.
Showering praises on the Delta Speaker, a former commissioner
for Sport in Ogun State added that Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, has promised to make
the wheelchair basketball envy to all and encourage Special Sports athletes.
“Ochei has reiterated his commitment to the growth and
development of wheelchair basketball in the country, hence his determination to
make this years edition more competitive and elaborate and we at the federation
are not living any stone unturned to organize a hitch free championship,” he
said.
Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei, who was present at the competition
where he watched the finals, showered the participants with praises and
accolades for their superlative performances and promised that he would
continue to support the event, even as he promised to explore all available
possibilities to ensure that Nigeria was represented at the World Wheel Chair
Basketball championship in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, later in the year.
He commended the teams from Ghana, Benin Republic and Togo who
participated in the competition and gave plaudits to the Nigerian teams for
beating their foreign opponents, a situation he said was an indicator that
Nigeria is above other West African countries in the sport.
A highly elated Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly,
while commending the federation board members for a hitch free championship
said he was happy to be part of the championship.
He had also echoed the same sentiments he did after the maiden
edition when he had enthused: “Celebrating my birthday with you Special Sports
Athletes was a thing of joy to me because you have all exhibited and
demonstrated a rare quality in sports circle.”
This 2nd Edition also fell perfectly within the season of his
Birthday.
Prior to the tournament it had also emerged that the Wheelchair
Basketball Federation of Nigeria (WBFN) would use the 2nd Victor Ochei
International Wheelchair Basketball Championship as trials for the Under 23
Wheelchair Basketball Championship in South Africa from March 30 to April 9.
President, Wheelchair Basketball Federation of Nigeria, (WBFN),
Bukola Olopade who made the declaration from South Africa said that
arrangements had been concluded for the Nigerian team to take part in Under 23
event in South Africa.
According to him, the South Africa trip would enable the
country’s wheelchair basketball team participate at the forthcoming World 23
Wheelchair basketball championship slated for October in Turkey.
Olopade also stated that the best players would be selected for
the country to ensure the team qualifies for the World Championship.
It will be recalled that Speaker of the Delta State Legislature,
Rt. Hon (Engr) Victor Ochei FNSE, had revealed that his unwavering support for
wheelchair basketball stems from his desire to bring smiles and hope to the
physically challenged in the society.
Ochei had made this assertion at a media session with some sports
journalists in his office at the DTHA complex, Asaba, heralding the just
concluded 2nd edition of the Rt. Hon (Engr) Victor Ochei International
wheelchair basketball championship.
According to him, his love for this sector of the society
informed his resolve to sponsor this tournament whereby, the finals of the
competition coincides with his birthday.
Ochei had also avvered that the presence of neighbouring
countries such as Ghana, Benin and Togo, in the 2013 edition of the
championship, was definitely an improvement on the maiden edition which
had featured only Nigerian teams and this would act as a means of
creating the expected awareness and co-operation amongst the countries in the
ECOWAS sub-region.
Hon Ochei also stated that he will bring his contacts to bear on
ensuring adequate funding of the sport which in his words, ”has the potential
of increasing Nigeria’s medals haul at regional, continental and global
multi-sporting meets.
The legislator reiterated his aspiration of Nigeria making a debut
in the wheelchair basketball event at the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
He therefore urged god spirited individuals and the corporate
Nigeria to identify with this noble objective of lending credence to the dictum
that “there is ability in disability.”
Twelve states of the federation particiapted in the the 2nd
Victor Ochei International Wheelchair Basketball Championship, while Ghana,
Togo and Benin Republic were international teams that featured in the tourney.
The third edition is scheduled to hold next year at the Federal
Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.
Credit: Flashpoint News
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