Emotions ran high last Wednesday when male team members of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, D’Tigers, appeared with a warmup shirt bearing the face of late Olanrewaju Fasasi, aka Sound Sultan, before their pre-Olympics match against Australia.
As a mark of tribute to the late singer, a well-known basketball fan who helped develop the game in Festac area of Lagos, the team also observed a minute silence.
Sound Sultan died following a 4-year battle with angioimmunoblastic t-cell lymphoma,
in the early hours of Sunday, July 11; while the Nigerian basketball team was registering a historic 90-87 victory over Team US in an Olympic friendly.
Meanwhile, Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), had dedicated D’Tigers’ recent victories over Team USA and Argentina to the late singer.
The NBBF, on its verified Twitter page, said: “We dedicate the victories against the US & Argentina to the late Olanrewaju Fasasi (Sound Sultan).
”You saw this day coming when Nigeria would become a dominant force in global basketball. Ironically, the day we won against Team USA was when you gave up the ghost. RIP.”