Planet Bottling Company, the producer of American Cola, has completed the renovation of a basketball court in Ilupeju, Lagos, unveiling it as the American Cola Creative Court.
According to The Punch, the project, carried out in partnership with the Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area, has transformed the facility into a multi-purpose creative space designed to support grassroots sports, urban culture and youth development.
Speaking on the initiative, the Marketing Manager of Planet Bottling Company, Naji Awada, said the project was intended to nurture basketball talent at the grassroots and provide young players with better opportunities.
“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.”
The company’s Communications Manager, Franklyn Eluagu, said Planet Bottling Company was identifying basketball communities across Lagos to determine how best to improve playing facilities and support the growth of the sport.
“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.
The company also donated jerseys to the male and female basketball teams of the Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA.
The kits are expected to serve the teams for the next two years.
The Leader of the Legislative House of the LCDA, Olamilekan Adeyi, said the partnership was already having a positive impact on young people in the area.
“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.
The unveiling also formed part of the second edition of the American Cola Shoot the Hoop and Half Court tournaments, with 24 teams competing in each event.
Several matches were held during the unveiling, as participating teams competed for a combined prize pool of ₦5m.
The winner of the Shoot the Hoop competition will receive ₦800,000, while the second- and third-placed teams will take home ₦400,000 and ₦200,000 respectively.
For the Half Court tournament, the winners will pocket ₦2m, with ₦1m and ₦500,000 going to the runners-up and third-placed team respectively.
