Nigeria launches ultra basketball

The tournament is listed as an emerging grassroots basketball development program focused on scouting talent, conducting player evaluations, and drafting grassroots players into competitive teams.

by Marabou News Agency

The draft unveiling for the maiden edition of the Ultra Basketball Championship in Nigeria took place this week in Lagos State, as players and coaches were assigned to various franchises.

Launched a year ago, the historic championship is a fast-paced, one-day youth showcase with distinct basketball rules. It features 64 players 32 male and 32 female split evenly across eight teams.

The draft pick unveiling sets the tone for the finale on Saturday, 15 August 2026 for the historic basketball showcase. Winners will be crowned in both the male and female categories.

Organisers highlighted the importance of such an initiative in the development of next-generation talent. The competition targets players, aged 16–20, across Nigeria’s South Western states.

The founder, Olusegun Imah, said discovering and nurturing talent early is key to developing sports in the West African nation.

“Discovering talent early is important. Sports is a physical activity, so, not everyone is gonna play as long as Lebron James,” Imah said.

“So, you have maybe 10 years, if you are lucky 15 years, so, it is important to start early. So, our focus is discovering talent early, nurturing them, and playing active roles in their development. But most importantly, we want to pay attention to data.”

Coach Titi Adekoya of the Nigeria Police Basketball Club who is among the coaches set to guide the drafted players, said she is excited about the journey ahead.

“I am very excited. This is very unusual; this is not something we get often. It is very different from the regular. When I got the invite for this, I was very excited because I wanted to experience something different from what we used to get.”

The tournament is listed as an emerging grassroots basketball development program focused on scouting talent, conducting player evaluations, and drafting grassroots players and coaches into competitive teams.

Marabou News Agency

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