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The organisers have ensured there will be fireworks on the court by increasing the number of teams from eight to 10 with the addition of Gidi Giants & Ghana's Spintex Knight.
Former Nigerian D'Tigers captain and NBA star Olumide Oyedeji's basketball team, Gidi Giants and Ghanaian side Spintex Knight have joined the elite teams registered to take part in the inaugural Louis Edem invitational basketball championship in February 2023.
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The tournament which was initially set to feature eight Nigerian Premier league teams has now been increased to 10 teams.
Two teams, Gidi Giants, owned by former NBA star Olumide, and Spindex will join eight others to compete in the tournament which starts from 6th-11th of February 2023 at the National Stadium, Lagos.
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Nigerian champions to go head-to-head
Nigerian league champions and Basketball Africa League representatives Kwara Falcons alongside former champions Rivers Hoopers headline the star-studded list of competing teams.
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Other teams set to battle at the tournament include Ebun Comets, Lagos Legends, Police Baton, Raptors, Hot Coal and Ogun Warlords.
These teams will lock horns in Lagos to determine who takes home the 2 million naira grand prize and runners-up going home with 1 million Naira
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Organiser overwhelmed by interests
Tournament organiser Louis Edem Ekpeyong disclosed he has been swamped with interest from top local & international teams since the tournament was announced in December hence the need to increase the number of participating teams from eight to 10 teams.
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"Since we made the announcement almost every top team in the country has signified interest. The enthusiasm to compete at my Dad's memorial tournament has been overwhelming and It's been really tough to decide."
"However, after talking to my team we decide to extend the team entries to accommodate 10 teams and give all teams a minimum of 4 games in the preliminaries and we head straight to the semi-finals".
Ekpeyong's brief
Ekpeyong is a two-time Nigerian basketball league most valuable player and former D'Tiger star. He also played for Kada Stars, Jigawa Rocks, Yelwa Hawks Bauchi, Union Bank basketball club, and Kano Pillars.
He also featured for the Bahrainian club Al Ittihad and Yarmook Club in Kuwait. Ekpeyong hosting the championship in honour of his father who passed during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
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