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 30
th of May to 6
th 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.
