Team Lagos yesterday (Tuesday, December 3) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, defeated their Oyo State counterparts 49-24 to win the maiden edition of the Invitational Wheelchair Basketball Tournament.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Team Delta came third in the four-team competition played at the Lekan Salami Stadium after defeating Team Kwara 37-26.
After the final match, Obrien Adokai, the coach of Team Lagos, said however that he did not see the victory as anything.
Adokai said he was of the belief that if one worked hard for something, that individual or team would have what he/she/they desired.
“The game was fair, mistakes here and there, which is normal for any human activity. The margin doesn’t matter to me, but the winning is what matters.
“The margin means that if we’ve worked harder, it would have been more,” he said.
Speaking also, Tunde Popoola, a member of the Oyo State Basketball Association board, said the competition was organised to honour those living with disability.
Popoola said the association wanted them to showcase their abilities, skills and what they possessed, especially in the area of sports.
“I’m very impressed with what I saw in the competition.
“I’m the Technical Director of the Wheelchair Basketball Federation and I can say a lot of skills have been displayed at this competition.
“I’m convinced that, in the near future, we will have more competent players to represent us at international competitions.
“Across the states, we will have enough players to field and infuse into the national teams.
“The future of wheelchair basketball in Nigeria is very bright definitely,” he said
Popoola added that wheelchair basketball was however facing some challenges.
“The major challenge is the availability or procurement of wheelchairs. We need more wheelchairs across the nation.
“With the lack of wheelchairs, our players can’t get better in the game.
“Wheelchairs are needed badly at the states and zones for players. There’s also the need for competitions for them to exhibit their skills and get better,” he said.
The Federation Technical Director added that it was important that people living with disabilities were made to understand that it was unfortunate they were born that way.
“That’s not the end of the world. That you’re blind does not make you visionless.
“In sports, many physically-challenged athletes are making Nigeria proud. At international competitions, the physically-challenged athletes win more medals for the country,” he pointed out.
NAN reports that winners at the competition received cash prizes, with Lagos receiving N500,000, Delta getting N300,000 and Kwara receiving N200,000.
During the competition, each team was given accommodation, a meal per day for the two days of the event and N150,000 as appearance fee.
Each team also had a minimum of two women on the court during each game, with the competition being an infusion of both male and female players.
