The governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has awarded the sum of N30million to the victorious Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club that recently won the Louis Edem International Basketball tournament.
The governor, who announced the award at a reception he hosted for the club at Government House on Friday, also assured that the government would continue to sustain support for the growth of all sporting activities in the state to make Rivers State attractive to the youths.
Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club led by the Commissioner for Sports, Mr. Chris Green, were at Government House to present their laurels to the governor.
Fubara said with the support given to the team, it was also expected of them to keep working hard and disciplined to win, that the trophy is proof to the world that they can be the best in their chosen field.
He said, “It is not just about giving you the endowment in terms of financial support, but it is also good to see that the contributions of the management and the players themselves collectively contributed to the success of the team.
“What you are doing today serves as a message to the youths constituting a nuisance and perpetuating all forms of criminality to make them realise that they are wasting their energies as opposed to deploying them towards useful ventures for the benefit of our State.”
The governor commended the Commissioner for Sports for effectively managing the team to achieve results.
Commissioner for Sports, Christopher Green applauded the governor for rewarding hard work because the Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club won all their six final matches and also beat Ghana’s team to emerge the winners of the Louis Edem International Basketball competition in Lagos.
He also said that it was the first time that the Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club would be rewarded for any victory they had ever clinched for the state.
