Rivers State Government rewards Hoopers, offers continued support

Four-time Nigerian Basketball League champions, Rivers Hoopers were hosted by Rivers State Governor, Similanayi Fubara on Friday where he assured the team of its continued support.

Following their victorious outing at the second edition of the Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship in Lagos in September, the Rivers State Government rewarded the KingsMen with the sum of thirty million naira (N30,000,000).

Governor Similanayi Fubara made the pronouncement when the Commissioner for Sports, Christopher Green, led the management and players of the team to hand over the trophy to the Governor at the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday.

The governor said with the support given to the team, it is also expected of them to keep working hard with discipline to win.

“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. So, I say thank you.”

“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.”

Governor Fubara commended the Commissioner for Sports, Hon. Christopher Green for effectively managing the team to achieve results.

In his address, Green applauded the governor for rewarding hard work because the Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club won all six games and also beat Ghana’s Spintex Knights to emerge winners of the Louis Edem Invitational Basketball competition in Lagos.

He also mentioned that it would be the first time that Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club would be rewarded for any victory they had ever clinched for the State.