The 10th annual Aminu Good Works Foundation Nigeria Basketball Combine, which kicked off at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan, Oyo State, on Friday, climaxed on Sunday with the emergence of the First Team and two Most Valuable Players.
Precious Jude and Ajibade Abraham were named the Most Valuable Players, while the competition also produced a First Team comprising 14 male and female players.
Overall, the three-day basketball combine featured 150 young prospects, comprising 100 boys and 50 girls drawn mainly from Oyo State, as well as 15 coaches, with one coach assigned to every 10 players.
Reflecting on the motivation behind the initiative while speaking with The PUNCH at the venue in Ibadan, Nigerian basketball icon and founder of the Aminu Good Works Foundation, Aminu Al-Farouq, said it was his way of giving back to his fatherland.
“It was a higher power. I just felt called to give back. And I felt I had the ability to do it. I had a calling to want to be back to my Nigerian roots. I realised that this is something that I’m obviously very passionate about. It’s been 10 years now and I’m going to continue to be passionate about it. I have a team and I believe that we’re primed to do some amazing things,” Al-Farouq said.
