South-East representative on the board of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Honourable Ugo Udezue has come out with a detailed explanation of his recent efforts towards developing the game further in Ebonyi State.

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Sports247 reports that Honourable Udezue gave the explanation while speaking against the backdrop of his efforts in the construction of a new court for the upcoming three-day South-East Basketball Tournament in the state.

The contest, which will coincide with be the commissioning of the Honourable Richard Idike Basketball Court, will hold at Ebonyi Shopping Mall, Abakaliki, with competing teams from all five South-East states: Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Anambra and Abia.

Commissioner for Youth Development and Sports in Ebonyi State, Honourable Richard Idike is expected to attend as special guest of honour and will unveil the new court, which was facilitated by Udezue to assist in the development of basketball talents.

Udezue, who is also the chief executive officer of AFA Sports, confirmed that the competition, which will hold from this Friday to Sunday, is part of his efforts to promote grassroots basketball and youth empowerment in the region.

“Ebonyi State had no viable basketball court in the whole state, but the state is producing a lot of players. Half of the Coal City Blazers (the only Premier League team in the southeast) are from Ebonyi.

“We cannot keep putting the burden on the government. As stakeholders, in addition to creating an enabling environment, we must commit to sports infrastructure, especially in the southeast, where football is the dominant sport.

“We will continue to push development through infrastructure. We have donated uprights in Enugu for the indoor stadium, and have now built a court in Abakaliki. We will continue to push development through infrastructure.

“The initiative aligns with my vision of expanding basketball opportunities in the South-East and creating expanded pathways for young basketball players to further develop their careers in the sport,” Udezue expatiated.

The post Ugo Udezue Explains His Commitment Towards Development Of Basketball In Ebonyi State first appeared on Sports247 Nigeria.

The post Ugo Udezue Explains His Commitment Towards Development Of Basketball In Ebonyi State appeared first on Sports247 Nigeria.

He may be the odd man out in a group that knows one another like a book, but Chris McCullough already projects that the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals between TNT and Ginebra will be talked about for a long while.

“I think this is truly gonna be one of the PBA Finals that’s gonna be remembered for a long time,” offered the former San Miguel Beer import during the pre-Finals press conference at the Novotel Manila Araneta City in Cubao.

It’s quite an interesting take for somebody who’s making his first appearance in this age-old rivalry, but the 31-year-old sure knows a thing or two about the squads battling for gold for the fourth time in the last eight conferences.

His new team, TNT, for one, was the very same franchise he and the Beermen beat on the way to ruling the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup, and so he knew their quality way before joining them as Bol Bol’s replacement.

And definitely, he’s grown even more familiar with the way they do things, now that he has played three games with the Tropang 5G–games that were crucial as they led to their ouster of sister team Meralco in the semifinals.

Then there’s the Barangay. He’s never fought against the crowd darlings before, but the Syracuse product has been aware of their legend, more so about their NSD spirit, which was on display against Rain or Shine in the Final Four.

Add to that his familiarity with Justin Brownlee, who turns out to be someone he’s known for so long, when they were still making names for themselves.

“Great team, we’re going up against a great player. This is going to be one of the ones that’s gonna be remembered,” McCullough said.

The former NBA pro’s presence serves as one of the many layers to yet another Finals meeting between two proud ball clubs, and it would be truly interesting to see how he’d affect the entire best-of-7 affair that begins later tonight.

And it opens at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, the very same venue where ‘C-Mac’ won his maiden PBA championship and also where TNT and Ginebra played the classic Game 7 of the Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

(C) PBA Images

Game 1 of the Finals is set later at 7:30 p.m., and according to the Casino Plus sportsbook, Ginebra is favored to win, with the handicap set at -3.

Wagers can be placed here: https://www.casinoplus.com.ph/home/inGame?name=basketball&title=SportBet.

The Tropa, as we all know, won that bout, 87-83, and history is actually in their favor as it marked the third straight time that they beat the Kings in the Finals, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson serving as the lynchpin of those triumphs.

But the 3-time Best Import is out due to an Achilles injury, making McCullough among the centers of attention in this highly anticipated rematch.

“It’s a very different series this time,” head coach Chot Reyes reflected. “First of all, we have a different team because of the import that we have. The key, I think, is our ability to continuously adjust and adapt to Ginebra’s game.”

“And for me personally, my only objective is to be able to play at a high level. Because that’s the only way we can compete,” he added.

However, it won’t just be about who’s the better reinforcement, as the local stars are just as important, with TNT leaning on Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, and Jordan Heading, who has regained his touch in the latter part of the semis.

Then of course, there’s the ageless Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, both of whom have been sharing frontcourt duties.

Over at the Kings, there’s RJ Abarrientos, who’s the presumptive Best Player of the Conference, especially after a sterling series against the Elasto Painters, capped by back-to-back 30-point showings to close out their foes.

There’s also Scottie Thompson, who’s back to his ‘superstar role player’ mode now that he’s gotten more comfortable with Abarrientos as a running mate–a role previously assumed by future Hall of Famer LA Tenorio.

“It’s not fun being the second-place team,” offered Coach Tim Cone, who’s looking to grow his record collection of league championships to 26. “Both teams are deserving to be here. One’s going to come out on top.”

The post McCullough sees TNT-Ginebra PBA Finals as a series for the ages appeared first on Tiebreaker Times.

Janine Pontejos wasted no time making her presence felt, powering Akari-Rizal to a dominant 100-67 victory over her former team Caloocan in the 2026 Women’s Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on Wednesday at the MRB Gymnasium.

Pontejos, who was dealt to the Sparks alongside Rejoice Adlawan in exchange for Angel Anies and a second-round pick last week, torched her former squad with five triples en route to 21 points and five assists in just 16 minutes of action in her Akari-Rizal debut.

The win carried bigger implications for the Sparks, who secured at least a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals after improving to 6-1 and climbing to the top of the standings.

(C) WMPBL

Akari-Rizal remain in prime position to secure an outright semifinals berth as they continue their strong run in the tournament supported by Aktive.

The Sparks never looked back after a blistering start, racing to a 26-8 lead in the opening quarter and maintaining full control throughout. Akari-Rizal led by as many as 40 points in the fourth quarter following a Galicia layup that made it 92-52 with 4:09 remaining, sealing a wire-to-wire win.

“We need this win because we want this to be a springboard going into the next games dahil medyo, I would say malalakas ‘yung kalaban because we got Biñan and Batangas,” said Sparks head coach Derick Pumaren.

“We have to be ready for that kaya we didn’t take things for granted in this game,” he added.

Allana Lim added 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while Joanne Nagma contributed 10 points and five rebounds in less than 11 minutes of action for Akari-Rizal.

Jhenn Angeles finished with nine points, four assists, and three rebounds, while Camille Sambile tallied eight points, three assists, and two rebounds as the Sparks stretched their winning streak to four.

(C) WMPBL

Meanwhile, the Lady Kankaloo fell to 1-6 in the standings but remain in contention for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals, needing to win their final three games to stay in the race.

Janeth Sison led Caloocan with 13 points and four rebounds, while Tin Capilit and Sofia Felisarta added 10 points each.

The Scores:

Akari-Rizal 100 – Pontejos 21, Lim 15, Nagma 10, Angeles 9, Sambile 8, Galicia 6, Prado 6, Palmera-Dy 5, Del Prado 4, Adlawan 4, Candelario 4, Ventura 3, Salapong 3, Abatayo 2, Flor 0

Caloocan 67 – Sison 13, Felisarta 10, Capilit 10, Anies 7, Camagong 7, Lorenzvi 6, Pedregosa 4, Serrano 4, Candido 3, Galgerra 1, Gonzalo 2, Ngo 0, Marcos 0, Madrid 0

Quarterscores: 26-8, 54-25, 77-40, 100-67

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