Louis Edem, two-time Nigeria Premier Basketball League Most Valuable Player award winner, has called for more investment in basketball development.

Edem, the organiser of the Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship, in its fourth edition, made the call on Sunday while speaking with journalists in Lagos.

He said basketball development needed to be taken seriously with stakeholders investing more funds to ensure the country met the standards of other top nations in the sport.

Edem said he had invested well over N300 million to develop basketball at the grassroots in the last four editions and would continue to do more.

He expressed satisfaction over the growing fan base of the championship over the last four editions, signifying the competition was gaining ground.

He promised to increase the number of participating teams from 10 to 15 in the future.

“I intend to see more youths play basketball and players at the elite level get more championships to earn a living from the sport they love.

“I am ready to work with the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and many other stakeholders to ensure we have a well-tailored functional basketball league in the country,” he said.

The head coach, Spintex Knights of Ghana, Selmon Thomas, said his club had benefited immensely from the yearly event and urged more stakeholders to get involved in developing the sport.

“It has been a worthwhile event; coming from Ghana has always been an immense joy because, in the end, we know the benefits we derive from participating.

“We, however, hope that one day, the organisers can extend such development by hosting the competition in Ghana,” Thomas said.

Meanwhile, Landry Adogon, Head Coach, ASPAC Basketball Club of Cotonou, Benin, said Nigeria had always been a forerunner in developing the youths through sports.

He said it had always been a joy coming to participate in the off-season competition in Nigeria.

According to him, the competition has, over the years, provided the team with the platform to showcase their talents and improve on their techniques.

He also urged other stakeholders and lovers of basketball to emulate the organisers of the competition in developing the sport in the region.

“We are always proud to come to Nigeria to compete and we hope that one day, other stakeholders in Benin can see how we improve through events like this.

“We hope to be back next year to defend our title and prove to other competition teams that we are no pushovers in basketball,” Adogon said.

ASPAC won the 2025 Louis Edem Invitational Basketball Championship in Lagos after defeating Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers, 80-77 in Saturday’s epic final.

(NAN)