ONE LEAGUE, ONE FAMILY: ABA CLOSES ITS PILOT SEASON WITH AN ALL-STAR CELEBRATION

By Eyere Ekuta

There was a different feel at Mo Arena as the Amateur Basketball Academies (ABA) League brought its pilot phase to a close. After weeks of competitive games, the final day was not about elimination or chasing another result. It was about bringing the young players together, celebrating their progress and giving the league one more opportunity to showcase the talent that emerged during its first season.

Twenty-four standout players, 12 boys and 12 girls selected from the participating academies, returned to the court for the ABA All-Star Games. 

The girls’ game saw Team Black defeat Team Blue 37–29, while Team Red edged Team White 60–57 in the boys’ game. But the significance of the day went beyond the results. 

Players who had spent the tournament competing against one another now shared the same jerseys, passed to one another and played as teammates.

For the ABA leadership, that sense of community was central to what the pilot season was intended to achieve.

President and Founder of the Amateur Basketball Academies League, DC Abubakar Lucky Aliyu, said the competition was designed first and foremost to give children the opportunity to play, learn and develop.

“I can see the euphoria everywhere,” he said at the closing ceremony. “It was a fun-filled, fun-packed event for the kids… to the glory of God, everything just went as planned.”

The first season also came with challenges. One of the issues the league addressed was age falsification, which led to the suspension of some teams and coaches during the competition.

“We are against age falsification. We don't want that to enter into our system,” Aliyu said, adding that affected academies would have the opportunity to “go and start on a clean slate.”

Aliyu also confirmed that the pilot league is only the beginning. The next phase will begin with Lagos, with the longer-term ambition of developing a nationwide ABA League.

The league's stated development pathway is straightforward: “We discover, we nurture, we develop, and we unleash them to global basketball.”

The closing ceremony also brought together Very Important Personalities from different parts of the Nigerian basketball community, including former players, coaches, officials, administrators and scouts.

Among them was Olumide Oyedeji, the former Nigerian national basketball team captain and first African-born player drafted into the NBA outside the United States. Oyedeji, who also founded the Olumide Oyedeji Youth Foundation, has spent years working with young people through basketball.

After watching the ABA League, he said:

“I've been doing this for 26 years, but seeing this, this is just taking it to the next level.”

His message to the players was simple: continue improving and keep believing in what is possible.

“Continue to do more, want to get better. Sky's the beginning… for me, sky has no limit. Just keep reaching.”

Oyedeji also emphasised the importance of grassroots development, noting that he did not have an opportunity like this when he was young.

He also acknowledged the coaches working behind the scenes, describing them as the “unsung heroes” of player development.

Another voice at the event was Joseph Gene, principal partner at Fair Play Sports International Agency in Spain.

Gene said the league had shown him a pool of young players with significant potential.

“What I have seen in this country is full of future NBA and European basketball players, professional ones,” he said.

But he also stressed that talent alone is not enough. He pointed to tactics, mentality, sleep, fitness and what he described as “holistic development” as important parts of preparing young athletes.

“It's not just basketball skills, it's lifestyle skills too,” Gene said. “Please let's push together for the good of these amazing players.”

Alhaji Abdulmajid Solademi, Chairman of the Yagifas Foundation and founder of Air Warriors Basketball Club, also praised the ABA league for giving young players repeated opportunities to compete.

He noted that regular game time can help young players develop confidence and begin to see themselves as future professionals.

His message to the wider basketball community was that the model should provide lessons for everyone involved in the development of the sport.

One of the defining features of the ABA League was its requirement that participating academies field both male and female Under-18 teams.

For young players such as Efe Okusare, the experience provided an opportunity to learn and compete.

“I learned how to shoot, and I want to gain more skills in the future,” she said, crediting her family, school and parents for encouraging her basketball development.

On the boys' side, Suliaman Jauro, one of the tournament's standout shooters, spoke openly about his ambitions.

He also shared his long-term ambition: “I see myself playing college or the NBA. Hopefully.”

For a young player, that confidence matters. So does having a competition where those ambitions can be tested through actual games.

The players were not the only ones invested in the competition. Parents were present throughout the tournament, following games, supporting their children and encouraging them through wins and defeats.

One parent spoke about the effect the league had on her daughter and her hopes for the youngster's future.

“I will continue to encourage her through this and other competitions, I believe she will make it in life,” she said.

She described the competition as an opportunity for exposure and credited the coaches, organisers and other parents for creating an environment that encouraged the players.

“This has really inspired and motivated my daughter, and I believe she will continue and become a better baller,” she added.

With the All-Star Games complete, the ABA League's pilot season has officially ended. But the organisers are already looking ahead to the next stage, and a longer-term ambition of building a nationwide competition.

The first edition has provided the organisers with experience, identified areas that need improvement and, most importantly, given hundreds of young players an opportunity to compete.

The All-Star Games offered a fitting final chapter. Players from different academies came together, coaches and families celebrated their progress, and members of the wider basketball community saw some of the young talent emerging from the grassroots.

For the players, however, this is not necessarily the end. It is another step in their development.

The ABA pilot season has shown what can happen when young players are given a structured environment, regular competition and the opportunity to be seen. The next challenge will be taking that model beyond Abuja and building on what the first season has established.

As the players left Mo Arena, the competition was over, but for many of them, their basketball journey is only beginning.