Bishop Dimieari Grammar School boys basketball team finally emulated their girls by winning the 22nd Milo Basketball Championship
With just seconds left on the clock; Government Secondary School, Karu, Abuja and Bishop Dimieari Grammar School, Bayelsa were tied 33-33.
Government Secondary School committed a turnover, and they farmed the ball out to Bishop Dimieari's No.14 Valour Okini, who took aim from outside and swish, the ball sailed in and the buzzer went off.
Okini had made the winning shot as Bishop Dimieari Grammar School male team won the 2022 edition of the Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship. It was a tight and edgy affair and it was worthy that they won the contest in the last seconds with a three-point shot.
PREMIUM TIMES caught up with the hero of the hour, Okini, after his buzzer beater. That last moment "was very awesome and unbelievable," Okini told us breathlessly as his teammates and school mates crowded him.
"To be honest, I don't believe I can make that shot, but I just believed in myself and all the fasting and prayer I went through. I was just saying in my heart my God, Jesus, and the ball sailed in.
"And for the first time in Nigeria, the same school won both the boys' and girls' category. I just want to give God all the glory.
"If you know, Bayelsa is a very tough place to win, but we fought it through. Every day we trained with my disciplined coaches-Coach Tony and Coach Gozie fought it though.
"We've gone through fitness several times and we came to Lagos and won both male and female; I just want to give God the glory," Okini concluded.
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The match was very tight and Government Secondary School led till the last 56 seconds of the encounter before Okini delivered his miracle shot.
PREMIUM TIMES also spoke to the winning coach, Coach Tony Nelson. "You know, people had been asking me why I work more on the girls and not the boys. The whole Bayelsa told me that this time the boys must win because it has always been the girls' team winning.
"So, I am very happy that the boys have done it-we have broken the yoke. In 22 years, no school has won both categories but we thank we have done it."
On how they were able to win, Coach Nelson revealed, "we noticed that these Government Secondary School guys are very aggressive, they are very fast. So, we choked our defence because they like penetrating a lot. And we fought for every ball-rebound, shooting-the boys did a great job.
When we were behind, we told them that after today there will be no championship for Milo till 2023. It is either you win it now or you come back again. They then told me they want to break the yoke, that they want to be champions too, just like the girls and they did it."
Coach Nelson has won theMilo Championship for girls a record seven times.
The organisers gave the winners basket balls and playing shoes while Milo will undertake an impact project at Bishop Dimieari Grammar School in Bayelsa.
