American Cola opens new basketball court in Ilupeju

Planet Bottling Company, makers of American Cola, has launched the American Cola Creative Court. This is after a complete makeover of the popular basketball court in Ilupeju, Lagos. The project was done in partnership with the Odi-Olowo Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area.

The revamped space is now a multi-purpose area. It aims to support grassroots sports, urban culture, and youth creativity.

Naji Awada, the Marketing Manager of Planet Bottling Company, spoke about the goals of the project. He said it focuses on developing grassroots basketball and creating chances for young players.

“This project is not about paints, new hoops or putting a logo on that fence. It is about renewing the passion for basketball, bringing talents here and hopefully raising stars here.

“It is about bringing communities together, building friendships and memories and making great talents. We are looking to do more in different communities. It is a long-term strategy and we will see a lot of our work in places you can’t imagine.”

Improving Basketball in Lagos

Franklyn Eluagu, the Communications Manager of Planet Bottling Company, mentioned the company’s plans. They are looking for basketball communities in Lagos to enhance facilities and create better conditions for players.

“For American Cola, globally, the countries that we belong to love basketball. In Lagos, we are identifying all the communities where they play basketball and seeing what we can do to improve the conditions of the players, the courts and the community to ensure there is growth of the game in Lagos and the country,” Eluagu said.

As part of the project, American Cola also gave jerseys to the male and female basketball teams of the Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area. The kits are meant to last the teams for the next two years.

Olamilekan Adeyi, the Leader of the Legislative House of the LCDA, shared how the partnership is helping the youth. He said the project is already making a difference.

“The partnership has already started benefiting the youths of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye. We have lots of participants here and from other local governments coming to use this court.

“For us, it is a thing of pride to the local government that American Cola has deemed it fit to partner with us, with the local government taking the youths out of the streets through this and other sports,” Adeyi said.

Tournaments and Prizes

The renovation of the court happened alongside the second edition of the American Cola Shoot the Hoop and Half Court tournaments. This event included 24 teams in each competition.

Some matches took place during the unveiling of the newly renovated court. Teams competed for a share of the ₦5m prize pool.

The winner of the Shoot the Hoop competition will take home ₦800,000. The second- and third-placed teams will receive ₦400,000 and ₦200,000 respectively.

In the Half Court competition, the winners will get ₦2m. The runners-up will receive ₦1m, while the third-placed team will get ₦500,000.