12 July 2006

NIGERIA : 12 Schools Confirmed for Milo Grand Finale

Twelve teams comprising six boys and six girls teams drawn from secondary schools across the country have now qualified to participate in the grand finale of this year's Nestle Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship which is expected to kick-off in Lagos this October.

Nestle Nigeria, the sponsors of the championship explained that given the company's passion for excellence and determination to develop basketball at the grassroots, the country was divided into six conferences from where one champion in each of the boys and girls categories have emerged.

At the end of the intra-state preliminaries on March 18, the conference finals kicked-off on June 1 with the Savannah conference in Kano where teams representing Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Katsina States vied for the grand finale tickets. The finals saw the teams from Sheikh Abubakar Gumi College, Kaduna State and Government Girls College, Gazawi, Kano State qualifying for the grand finale in the boys and girls categories respectively.

From the Sahara conference in Bauchi the teams from Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State and Government Girls College, Bauchi secured the grand finale tickets in the boys and girls categories respectively, at the expense of teams from Yobe, Taraba, Gombe, and Adamawa State.

It was a clean sweep by Benue State at the Central Conference in Abuja as the state representatives from Bristow Secondary School, and Queen of the Rosary Secondary School, Gboko played their way to the grand finale in the boys and girls categories.

Other States represented at the conference include Plateau, Nassarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Abuja, and Niger State.

At the Equatorial Conference, the boys of Community Secondary School, Kolo, Bayelsa State lifted the title in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, while Ikenegbu Girls Grammar School, Owerri, Imo State topped the girls category among other competing teams from Cross-River, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, and Abia states.The Fregene Gbugbemi tutored girls from Asaba Girls Grammar School made him proud as they secured the girls' grand finale ticket at the Atlantic Conference held in Asaba, Delta State. The boys of St. Thomas Basic Group of Schools, Benin-City, Edo State out-played their counterparts from Anambra, Ebonyi, Delta, and Enugu states to qualify from the conference for the male version.

The conference finals rounded-off with the Western Conference in Ibadan, Oyo State where Quine Unic College, Owode-Yewa, Ogun State and Yejide Girls Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State emerged champions at the expense of other representatives from Lagos, Ekiti, Osun, and Ondo State.

Expectations are now high for an explosive and highly entertaining grand finale, as the best teams from each of the six conferences will be on parade in Lagos come October.

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