Streets Basketball, 3×3 Championship, Debuts In Lagos

TAIWO ADELU

Mr. Deji Tinubu addressing the press at the unveiling of The Lagos 3×3 Tour in Lagos

Lagos State is breaking new grounds in the bid to develop and take sports to the grassroots. The latest is the 3×3 Basketball Tour competition, which holds in Lagos between 5 November and 3 December, 2016.

The Streets competition will hold in five major centres of the state, with N200,000 winner takes-it-all prize money.

The competition is centered on a tournament with 3×3 basketball as main attraction, fashioned towards FIBA 3X3 basketball world tour.

The Lagos 3×3 Tour is a FIBA endorsed basketball competition where teams (male and female) consisting of three individuals each, compete in various locations for the prize money and the title as the best streetball team in Lagos State.

The five major venues for the Lagos 3×3 Tour include, Sports Arena and Leisure Centre (Ilupeju), LASPARK (Ndubuisi Kanu Park) Alausa (Ikeja centre), Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre (Rowe Park in Yaba), YMCA Outdoor Court 77 Awolowo Road (Ikoyi centre) and Teslim Balogun Stadium Surulere (venue for the final).

Speaking at a media parley on Thursday at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Chairman Lagos State Sports Commission and Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Sports, Deji Tinubu expressed his satisfaction with the competition; urging Lagosians to come out in large numbers to be a part of the completion which gets underway thus weekend.

He said: “One of the things we promised to do was bringing people together, and that is what the competition stands to achieve. What this competition can do is to go back to the inside, because it’s a different kind of basketball.

“You have to be extremely fit and with much skill before you can make impact in the game. It also brings more entertainment to the game. The beauty of it is that you don’t need to be a professional basketball player before you can participate, once you can play the game and adhere to the rules; you can participate.

“It’s another way to widen our catchment areas, because it will take the game beyond our traditional centres. We want to involve everybody by creating enabling environment; that is why our major focus is building a sports culture in Lagos. We are supporting Rugby, Cycling and other sports because that is the only way to carry everybody along.”

In his own reaction, convener and sponsor of the completion, Howell Alusi said participants have a lot to benefit by participating in the first edition, which according to him is now an annual programme; and he hopes it would continue to get better.

“The Tour is endorsed and supported by FIBA and Lagos State Sports Commission. The tournament anticipates 48 teams in the field this year. It also provides a well-placed platform for brands exposure across market categories. Also players participating in the Tour would be listed in the FIBA 3X3 individual World Ranking,” Alusi explained.

Also reacting, Lagos State Basketball Association Chairman, Babs Ogunade, who also pledged the support of his association in the area of technical and other relevant areas in order to make the competition a success.

“Anytime there is basketball competition I am always excited and I want to assure everyone that we are ready to support the completion especially in the technical aspect,” Ogunade assured.

Each team shall consist of four (4) players (three players on the court and one substitute) with playoffs played in four different zones consisting of male and female players between the ages 18-40.

Meanwhile, teams will play on Saturdays as scheduled (round robbing in knockout format), the final will hold at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Indoor Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere; while the event is free to all spectators.