Ikeja played host to the second edition of the U-16 Mainland 3×3 Basketball Tournament on Saturday, bringing together public and private secondary schools from Lagos Mainland to compete for top honours.
Organised by Onaopepo Adu, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Sports Marketing and Administration, the tournament forms part of a broader youth-development strategy that combines competitive sports, digital innovation, and community-level talent identification.
This year’s edition featured 16 school teams, up from 12 last year, and included 64 basketball players alongside eight student gamers. The event also introduced an eSports component, allowing students to compete in virtual NBA matches.
On the court, Ilupeju Senior Grammar School claimed the boys’ title with a narrow 12-11 victory over Topfield College, while Topfield College girls dominated Dansol High School 22-2 to secure the girls’ trophy. Hosts Avi-Cenna International School finished third in both categories, and the eSports tournament ended in a close 59-57 win for Avi-Cenna over Wellspring College.
Speaking on the importance of the initiative, Adu said, “We brought both private and government schools together to see if we can get talent from here. Two of our MVPs from the previous edition got invited to the NBA Junior Cup. We want more students to experience opportunities like that and hopefully even go professional. We are actually trying to expand it, not just on the court, but digitally as well. That’s why we added an eSports edition to this year’s event.”
Damilare Orimoloye, Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Sports, praised the tournament for encouraging collaboration between private and public school athletes. “My joy is seeing private and public school athletes coming together. It speaks to collaboration and cross-cultural education. Athletes who perform badly here don’t mean they are not good; they just need more games. Game after game, competition after competition, we get to see them develop.”
Players and coaches also commended the organisers for raising the standard of the tournament, particularly with the provision of kits.
The inaugural edition, held in December 2024, was limited to Island schools, making this year’s Mainland edition an important expansion of the programme.
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