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Zenith Bank Celebrates D’Tigress On Back-To-Back Afrobasket Championship Victory

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Zenith Bank Plc, the sole sponsor of the Nigerian Female Basketball League has hailed the Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress, for emerging champions of the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket 2019 in Dakar, Senegal, defeating the host nation 60-55 points in the final match to retain the coveted trophy.

Speaking on the success of the team at the championship, the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu commended the team for their hard work, doggedness and team spirit, which has seen them retain the trophy which they won two years ago in Mali. He expressed delight at the heroics of the team, comprised mostly of products of the Zenith Bank Women Basketball League, which the bank has sponsored for 15 years consecutively.

D’Tigress of Nigeria held their nerves in the final quarter of the game played at the magnificent Dakar Arena on Sunday, fighting off a late challenge from their Senegalese counterparts, to emerge African champions for the fourth time.

Evelyn Akhator, one of the products of the Zenith Bank Women Basketball League, scored 14 points and made nine rebounds and her amazing performance throughout the tournament earned her a place in the Tournament Five.

The Nigerian female basketball team kick-started the competition with resounding victories of 75-26 points win over Tunisia and 106-39 points win over Cameroun in the group stages, before recording a 79-46 points win over Congo in the quarterfinals and a 79-58 points win over Mali in the semifinals.

BIG STORY

Usyk Defeats Fury, Becomes Undisputed Heavyweight Champion

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Oleksandr Usyk emerged as the world’s undisputed heavyweight boxing champion adter defeating Tyson Fury.

On Saturday night, Fury and Usyk engaged in combat at the Kingdom Arena located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Usyk defeated the British fighter 115-112, 113-114, and 114-113 on the scorecards to win the fight by split decision.

In the first several rounds of the battle, Fury came out swinging, but Usyk was able to withstand the British fighter’s assault.

As the battle went on, the Ukrainian gained momentum because of his excellent movement and technical proficiency, which allowed him to block Fury’s strong attacks and land accurate shots of his own.

The highly anticipated battle took a turn for the better when the Ukrainian stopped Fury in the ninth round.

Despite Fury’s valiant effort to recover in the final rounds, Usyk’s dominance had already sealed the victory.

The 37-year-old Ukrainian is the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago. He has now unified the WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC titles.

For Fury, it is the first loss in his 16-year professional career, but he will have a chance at a rematch before the end of the year.

In his post-fight interview, the British boxer accused the judges of giving the victory to Usyk because of the war in Ukraine.

“His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war,” he said.

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BIG STORY

Prince Harry, Wife Meghan Arrive In Nigeria To Promote The Invictus Games [PHOTOS]

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To support the Invictus Games, an initiative he launched to facilitate the rehabilitation of sick and injured service men and veterans, including Nigerian soldiers engaged in a 14-year fight against Islamic extremists, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday morning.

The couple, who were invited by the Nigerian Armed Forces to visit West Africa for the first time, reportedly landed in Abuja early on Friday morning, according to Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, spokesman for the Ministry of Defence. In an effort to improve wellbeing and morale, they will meet with injured soldiers and their families while they are there.

This participation has been praised by Nigerian officials as a major chance for the soldiers’ recovery.

Prince Harry, who served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner, founded the Invictus Games in 2014 to provide wounded veterans and Service members with the challenge of competing in sports events similar to the Paralympics. Nigeria participated in last year’s edition of the games.

During their stay, the couple will attend basketball and volleyball matches and meet with local non-governmental organizations in Abuja and Lagos that receive their support.

Meghan will also co-host an event on women in leadership with Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, according to the couple’s spokesman Charlie Gipson.

The news of Meghan’s visit has generated excitement among Nigerians who closely follow her life and association with the British royal family.

The Nigerian military has emphasised the significance of the Invictus Games in aiding the recovery of thousands of personnel who have been fighting Boko Haram Islamic extremists and their factions since 2009.

According to the military’s sports director, Abidemi Marquis, “Eighty percent of our soldiers that have been involved in this recovery programme are getting better (and) their outlook on life is positive.

“The recovery programme has given them an opportunity to improve their personal self-esteem, to improve their mental health and emotional intelligence.”

 

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BIG STORY

Nike Unveils Super Eagles 2024/25 Jersey [PHOTOS]

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The new Super Eagles jerseys for the 2024–2025 football season have been unveiled by clothing powerhouse, Nike.

Nike’s Instagram page published a post on Monday with a launch video of the new jerseys.

“The 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒔 disrupt convention with bold twists on icons.

“Featuring 𝑫𝒓𝒊-𝑭𝑰𝑻 𝑨𝑫𝑽 innovation, each kit is engineered for the needs of the modern footballer, from kick-off to the final whistle,” the post read.

Green hoops at the ends of the sleeves and shorts adorn the white home jersey. In a striking combination of colours, the word “Naija” is written in green across the kit’s breast.

In a stylistic nod to Nigeria’s national colours, the away uniform is patterned in a pastel version of the same colour, dark green.

For their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, the Super Eagles are anticipated to wear the new jerseys.

The team’s third qualifying match is scheduled for June 3 at home against South Africa. Seven days later, they are scheduled to travel to Benin Republic.

Before that, the Eagles will visit Grand Stade de Marrakech in Morocco for friendly matches against Ghana and Mali on March 22 and 26, respectively.

 

See photos below;

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