GSS Apo known as Apo Raptors and the GSS Zone 3 also known as Wuse Fever, have emerged champions at 10th edition of Power Forward Finals.
The three-day tourney which held at the M.K.O. Abiola National Stadium in Abuja and was concluded on Thursday had the boys basketball ball contest won by Apo Raptors and the girls basketball competition also won by Wuze Fever respectively.
The competition which began in June, featured 30 boys’ teams and 12 girls’ teams, with the top eight girls’ teams and top 10 boys’ teams advancing to the playoffs, and the top two girls’ and boys’ playoff teams advancing to the Power Forward Finals.
GSS Apo defeated GSS Zone 3 in the boys’ division, and GSS Zone 3 beat Total Child Model School in the girls’ division to claim their respective championships.
The success of the program over the years has been by the intricate collaborative effort and synergy of global bodies and firms. ExxonMobil Foundation President, Alvin Abraham said that the decade old partnership with NBA Africa and PanAfricare on the Power Forward initiative has promoted youth development through sports, life skills, and public health education.
“This impactful program has benefitted more than 250,000 young Nigerians and empowered them to use the leadership skills they learned to work towards a brighter future for Nigeria,” says Abraham.
NBA Africa Vice President and Country Head of Nigeria Gbemisola Abudu said that the 10th anniversary of the Power Forward program has been impactful going by the lighted faces on the participants even as the organization builds on its long-standing commitment to positively impacting the Abuja community.
PanAfricare Nigeria Country Director Dr. Patrick Adah noted that Power Forward in its 10th year has contributed to raising over 8,000 malaria champions and public health advocates.
“The positive impact of the project has transformed the lives of youths in 40 schools in the Federal Capital Territory. Through an effective and collaborative partnership, the project has metamorphosed into a model program which we look to continue to expand,” he added.
The 10th-anniversary celebrations of the Power Forward program – a youth development program was established in 2013 to provide life skills and public health awareness, malaria prevention workshops and basketball development programming to more than 250,000 boys and girls across 40 schools in Abuja. It also featured a Jr. NBA clinic for 1,200 children ages 16 and under and an alumni summit in the presence of 2015 NBA champion Festus Ezeli and 2015 AfroBasket champion Olumide Oyedeji.
As part of the Finals, the participants took part in a malaria jeopardy game and had the opportunity to utilise malaria testing stations set up outside the stadium.
