By Demilade Aderibigbe
Topfield College, Ajegunle, Lagos State has won both the girls’ and boys’ categories in the Western Conference of the 23rd MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship held on Monday June 5, 2023 at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan.
In the girls’ category of the championship, Topfield College, Ajegunle, Lagos State defeated their counterparts from Kings International College, Moniya, Ibadan Oyo State by 36 points to 30 points in a keenly contested encounter. The boys from Topfield College, Ajegunle, Lagos State, following the footsteps of their female counterparts, defeated the boys from Adedokun International School, Ota, Ogun State by 48 points to 17 points in a one-sided game.
The coach of Topfield College, Ajegunle, Lagos, Mr. Godswill Anukaku said “It is a great privilege to come here and play on this platform. So, I feel very happy and proud that we are moving to the nationals in Lagos, just as we did last year. we won in the conference here but did not really perform to the best of our abilities in the nationals, where we finished in third place. But, I assure you that this year, we are going to the nationals to come first in both the boys and girls categories.”
The Permanent Secretary of the Oyo State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. C. A. Abioye thanked Nestlé for their invaluable support over the years. She also called on other corporate bodies to follow their footsteps by supporting school sports.
Speaking further, Mrs. Abioye said, “The Oyo State Government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that Sports is taken to higher heights. One of such efforts is the upgrading of the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, including the Indoor Sports Hall, the venue of this program. The government encourages students’ participation in sports by supporting inter house sports competitions, which are yielding favorable results in students’ performance at competitions”.
The girls and boys from Topfield College, Ajegunle, Lagos State have now qualified to play in the national finals of the competition in Lagos in July. Other teams who will be in Lagos for the national finals are winners from the already concluded Savannah Conference which held in Kano from the 3rd to the 10th of May, Central Conference held at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja from the 12th to 19th of May and Atlantic Conference which held in Asaba from 20th to the 27th of May, 2023.
Category Manager for Beverages, Nestlé Nigeria, Mr. Olutayo Olatunji, reiterated Nestle’s commitment to developing talents, promoting healthier lifestyles, and instilling values for success in life through sports. “MILO, firmly believes that through participation in sports, children learn enduring values to help them achieve success in life,” he said.
“We are therefore, pleased to have this opportunity to provide a platform where young talents find expression through MILO Secondary School Basketball
Championship. On the field of play, the teams depend on the discipline, perseverance, courage, self-belief, and respect that they imbibe during practice and through their interactions with each other. These life skills are not only for basketball; they equip the players to navigate their careers and to be productive in society. This is grit, learned from sports but useful in every area of life.”
Nestlé Nigeria’s MILO Secondary School Basketball Championship has been promoting the value of grit for over 23 years, helping school children learn essential life skills such as resilience, persistence, stamina, cooperation, and self-belief. These values enable them to overcome challenges and achieve their goals in life.
Nestlé continues to lead grassroot sports development in Nigeria through its MILO Basketball Championship, contributing to the growth of many players in the Nigerian national teams, and notable clubs across the world today.
States who competed in the Western Conference of the MILO Basketball Championship at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan, from the 30th of May to 6th of June, 2023 are Edo, Lagos, Ogun and host Oyo. Others are Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara and Anambra.
The MILO Basketball Championship has grown tremendously from about 500 schools at its commencement in 1999. It now reaches over 150,000 individual players from over 10,000 schools across Nigeria every year.
