FIBA Africa Youth Camp MVP, Oluwatobi, Aiming for the Stars

The Most Valuable Player of the FIBA Africa Youth Camp in September, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Emmanuel Oluwatobi, has been tipped to attain the highest level in basketball if he maintains level headedness.

Standing at 6 feet 7 inches tall at just 15 years old, Oluwatobi fondly called “Emma Airflow”, won the hearts of coaches and instructors at the FIBA camp with his skills on the ball.

Though he missed earlier stages of the camp as his body took time to adjust to the rigour of drills, by the time Emma Airflow took to the court, it was obvious that his skill was way ahead of his peers. It therefore was not a surprise that he was selected as the MVP.

Speaking on his selection as MVP, Raptors Basketball Academy Coach, Charles Ibezeako, describes Emma Airflow as an imaging talent destined to play basketball at the highest level.

“If Emmanuel Oluwatobi calms down and listens, he’ll make it at top level basketball because he’s a great talent,” began Ibezeako who is reputed to be a top notched grassroots coach in the discovering of basketball talents.

“After being named the MVP of the FIBA camp, he needs to learn more. Right now, he’s good for college basketball in the USA,” he noted further at a media chat in Lagos recently.

Ibezeako camp in Abidjan as the biggest in the continent right now. “It’s one of the biggest basketball camps in Africa right now. They’ve been organising the camps to discover talents all over Africa, it’s a great initiative of FIBA to give kids in the continent the opportunities to be discovered.”

Oluwatobi who was nicknamed “Emma Airflow” by his manager, Nnamdi Agbakoba, admitted he had to put in extra effort to emerge the best talent at the FIBA Youth Camp.

“It wasn’t easy. It was very tough and challenging,” he stressed.

“I felt pains all over my body but my coach (Ibeziako) kept pushing me, making me work harder. When I was first invited for the camp in Abidjan, I didn’t have money for the COVID-19 tests as well. But thanks to God, money came later and I was able to make the trip. It’s a great experience that I will forever cherish,” gushed the lanky lad who was accompanied to the media parley by his mother on a wet Friday morning.

The FIBA Africa Youth Camp held in three African cities — Nairobi (Kenya), Saly (Senegal) and Abidjan (Ivory Coast) — last month with boys and girls from different African countries attending the FIBA-NBA joint initiative.

The Abidjan FIBA Africa Youth Camps, which held from September 15 to 18, was run by FIBA experts Naoufal Uariachi and Nour Amri and NBA experts Joe Touomou and Craig Madzinski.

A total of 15 coaches, including Ibezeako, assisted in the implementation of activities at the Palais des Sports Treichville in Abidjan.