One of many youngsters who participated at the maiden Templar-Adrenale National Basketball Combine project on Saturday, Gideon Ugbuwe has opined that lack of equipment and poor facilities are stalling the growth of basketball in Nigeria.
The youngster, who is a promising point guard, added during an exclusive interview with Sports247 that budding players also need more support from government and corporate bodies for them to develop faster in the game.
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He thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s senior special assistant on grassroots sports development, Prince Adeboye Anthony Adeyinka for partnering with Templar-Adrenale to organise Saturday’s programme, which boosted his aspirations personally.
Ugbuwe said, “The programme was excellent. It was a great experience that helped a lot of us to know our flaws and discover where we stand in basketball. We got to know our strengths and our weaknesses.
“It also helped us in outlining our progression, by getting to know what we need to work on. We got to realise that we can add more effort in order to get better.”
Ugbuwe then spoke about various obstacles young basketball players face in their aspirations for greater things while growing up in Nigeria, and urged more organisations to come out with projects similar to that of Templar-Adrenale.
“Basketball in Nigeria has enough opportunities and competitions for young players, but what we lack is enough equipment. We also need support from government and companies.
“Basically, lack of equipment and poor facilities slow down our growth in basketball. That’s why more of programmes like this will actually encourage us the youths to put in more effort, work harder and keep grinding.
“That’s what would encourage younger ones to enter fully into the world of basketball and take it as a career,” said Ugbuwe, who stands tall at 6 feet 3.
He concluded by revealing his personal targets in the game, top of which are featuring in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and playing for the Nigerian national team, D’Tigers.
“Personally, the target I have for myself in basketball is to reach the highest level in the NBA, other professional leagues, the national team, hall of fame and other major points of the game,” Ugbuwe posited.
