Gumbo Basic School Hawks emerged champions of the second season of the Stanbic Jr. NBA League after defeating Liberty Complex School Clippers in a thrilling final played on Saturday, March 7, at Nimra Talata Stadium in Juba, South Sudan.
The Hawks, representing the Eastern Conference, outscored their Western Conference rivals to clinch the title in a highly competitive showdown that marked the climax of the youth basketball tournament organised in collaboration with Stanbic Bank and the Luol Deng Foundation.
The road to the final saw intense conference battles between February 25 and March 5. In the Eastern Conference, Gumbo Basic School Hawks dominated their opponents, sealing a 2-0 series victory to be crowned conference champions.
In the Western Conference, Liberty Complex School Clippers secured their place in the final after edging their rivals 2-1 to emerge as conference champions.
With the victory in the championship game, Gumbo Basic School Hawks were officially crowned winners of the second season of the Stanbic Jr. NBA League.
This year’s finals marked the culmination of a 127-game season that featured 27 teams from across the region. More than 450 boys and girls participated in the competition, highlighting the growing popularity of youth basketball in South Sudan.
The Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA programme is the NBA’s global youth basketball development initiative aimed at teaching fundamental basketball skills and core values such as teamwork, respect, determination and community engagement.
The grassroots programme continues to expand across Africa and has already been launched in 19 countries, reaching more than 390,000 young players across the continent last year.
