4th October, 2010
Olabisi Joseph, the Secretary General of Nigeria School Sports Federation, (NSSF) told WALE JOSEPH that fans should expect a lot of exciting basketball actions as the 12th Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship dunks off today at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria.
What are the expectations of the federation in the finals of the Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship?
We are expecting to see the best grassroots basketball on display. My advice to the fans is that they should not miss these actions from Monday (today) at the National Stadium, Lagos. I am sure we are going to see exciting and interesting games.
What does this championship mean to your federation?
Thanks for this question. The Nestle Milo championship means a lot to us as a federation, more importantly, it means a lot to Nigeria as a country, because this championship is the flagship of grassroots basketball.
Can you please throw more light on this?
This championship has been on since 1999 without any interruption. It has produced players for the national teams, from D’Tigers and their female counterparts, D’Tigrees. The Juniors Nestle Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship has been supplying players for the national team. The record is there for every Nigerian to see. Players from the championship have also been representing the country in continental championships of FIBA Africa.
How has it been in the past few years of this championship?
To God be the glory and the sponsor. Nestle Milo Plc. has done a good job to keep us going. I must confess, if not for God and the sponsors we won’t be where we are today.
What are the new things Nigerians are going to see in this year’s championship?
The tourney is going to be filled with a lot of exciting and breathtaking basketball actions. Keeping with the Nestle Milo tradition, the fans are going to witness a blend of music and sports with popular Nigerian artists entertaining fans during the final match this weekend.
Apart from representing the country in international competitions, what are the prize monies for the winners in both the boys and girls categories and who is going to be responsible for their trips for the international competitions?
The prizes for this year’s best three teams are N150, 000, N120, 000 and N100:000 respectively for both boys and girls categories. We are expecting the respective state governments of the winners to sponsor their teams for the international championships for further development of the youths.