athletics but underneath the veneer of a lack of attention, the basketball scene is one which has gradually evolved. With the national basketball league sponsored by African broadcast giants, DSTV, the game has seen a fair degree of investment as fortunes have slowly improved.

For one of the leading teams in the DSTV Basketball Premier League, Lagos Islanders, fortunes have taken another upward turn as the team have reportedly secured a new team of investors led by Nigerian music star Olanrewaju Fasasi- popularly known as Sound Sultan. The musician is joined by former Islanders Ugo Udezue and Tajudeen Adeyemi who are said to also have equity in the club.

Team owner, Akinseku Damoye, has hinted that the new collaboration has been in the works for months as the Lagos Islanders undergo a full brand repackaging.

“We are set to change the face of basketball in the country and we have now formed a team that will work hard to achieve that,” Damoye said. “Ugo and Tj have done excellent ground work for the past nine months. The major challenge was getting a suitable new home ground but we have been able to achieve that now.”

Damoye also explained the involvement of musician Sound Sultan as the entertainer is set to set up the team as more appealing brand from the strategic point of entertainment.

“Basketball is also about entertainment that’s why we are partnering with an entertainer who also played the game very well,” Damoye said. “Sound Sultan is not just a fan of the game but a player and so he will handle a lot of the work around entertainment.”

Nigeria has a rich heritage basketball heritage having produced, in the pat and present, quite a number of professional NBA players.