The 2023 edition of the Womens Elite Sports Empowerment Initiative (WESIE) Basketball Championship which began earlier in the year across three geopolitical zones (North, South-West, and South-South/East) was concluded with the National Finals been hosted in Lagos over the weekend.
While two teams qualified from the Northern zone, three emerged each from the West and East to make the playoffs at the national finals. During the group stage ,Alice Gombwer Foundation (Gombe), Discover Sparks Basketball Academy (Asaba), Fortune Basketball Academy (Abeokuta), and Divine Speed Basketball Academy (Warri) emerged semi finalists.
Alice Gombwer and Discover Sparks lost out in their semi final game and settled for the third place match. In the finals, Divine Speed outclassed Fortune Basketball to emerge 2023 WESIE National Champions and went home with one million naira cash prize while Fortune Basketball settled for Seven Hundred and Fifty thousand naira.
On the other hand, Discover Sparks settled for a podium finish as they won the third place match to take home half a million naira.
The competition which is an annual event on the foundation’s calendar is an initiative of Funke Eno Adeniji. Her vision is to empower women through sport by creating various opportunities for them to develop and improve their sporting skills. This year’s edition received great support from Bola Adeyinka’s First Metro Infrastructure Ltd. as he believes in the vision of empowering the ladies through sports.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Most Valuable Player – Okoro Naomi (Divine Speed)
Best Shooter – Onajomo Ochuko (Discover Sparks)
Best Team Player – Polycarp Onome (Divine Speed)
Best Defensive Player – Jimoh Nosifat (Fortune Basketball)
6th Lady – Nicholas Deborah (Alice Gombwer Foundation)
