By Daily Sports on December 7, 2015

Since the giant step forward by an icon of the banking industry, Zenith Bank Plc, to sponsor Women Basketball in the country 11 years ago, the game has emerged stronger and now faces squarely the splendid future of being one annual basketball competition to be reckoned with. It may not be out of place to say that the Zenith Bank gesture has added colour to the events and acted as a game changer in the affairs of the sport. As a result, the bank has etched its name in gold in the nation’s sports hall of fame.

To put it mildly, it has never been a smooth sail in the annals of the championship, hence the kudos from within and outside the circle, commending Zenith Bank’s insightful initiative and tone-setting. Daily Sports, through this column, thumbs up the Bank in its always-ready attitude to be fully alive and responsibly playing key roles in what alleviates and promotes the well-being of the citizenry. Our Women folks have benefited immensely from the re-engineered basketball competition, which began 11 years ago. The bank is well ahead of its peers in this aspect of endure and other areas of services. Little wonder, therefore, it is a leader in the industry, and toast of customers that cut across ages and professions.

The giant strides by Zenith Bank Plc, no doubt, serves like the beacon that lucidly brought back zeal, vigour, determination, focus and interest. It has given the needed impetus to our girls to showcase their God-given talents, thereby making the whole exercise engaging to behold.

The championship has already generated lots of healthy competition and discussions among the players and their teams, as traffic of fans that watch the league continues to increase in each edition. One must posit here that the level of the game has also been upbeat, and such optimum attainment has been the reality associated with the sport today.

The officiating and quality of display by the gladiators of the game have no doubt been significantly noticed and all point to the good of the game. The Zenith Bank’s Women Basketball has grown tremendously without any prejudice and it all aimed at the development and sundry of the slamming and dunking sport.

Let me confess that it has instituted the culture of our girls knowing where the next meal would be coming from, which generously impacted their performance in the game, thereby establishing their grip. There has been no distraction since Zenith Bank took over the sponsorship. The women version of the game is fast growing with glaring and steady improvements. As a result, it has made some decisive statements on the African scene. The facts are verifiable.

The bank has not only shaped that category of basketball in the land, it has also redefined its background, bringing to bear long-term signposts to its fold. The game has been the better of late. Consequently, Zenith Bank promises better Women Basketball League for both practitioners and stakeholders. It is instructive to note that the championship has continued its steady upwardly mobile performance since inception. A total of eight matches were televised live games in four days of the out gone season, as opposed to last season where only the final match was televised live. The commitment of the bank to this visualisation cannot be over-emphasised. It leaves no one in doubt as to the direction it wants Women Basketball to attain in the country: the peak.

As many stakeholders, pundits and commentators were concerned about how next season would look like, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr Peter Amangbo, commended all the teams that took part at this year’s championship, promising that the 12th edition, which comes up next year, will be bigger and better than this year’s.

Head or tail, this well-packaged patriotic enterprise has also exposed the talents in the Zenith Bank’s Women Basketball League to the global community, just as it is seen in the Men’s Basketball League. The television coverage of Nigeria’s premier Zenith Bank Women Basketball League began in the knock-out stages with two classification games respectively. It has never been so, and it is safe to say that this is the finest hour for the game in the country so far. There has been also the Zenith All-Star Game since 2014. The innovation and motivation the bank has injected into this sponsorship lives on. The star prize money has drastically increased: 2015 winners (Dolphins) side took home whopping N1.2 million; second place, (First Bank) team got N1million, plus the silver cup attached; third position, (First Deepwater) N500,000.  From the foregoing, it will be an understatement to say that in Zenith Basketball…more worthy moves are expected in the next outing, which is in their character.

Forward with Zenith Bank Plc!

•Enyinnaya can be reached via 08055060145 (sms only) or by e-mail via sportzvictor@yahoo.co.au

Source Daily Sports

Posted December 7, 2015

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