Nile University captain Ikpe Precious said his team was determined to return to winning ways after finishing runners-up at the 8th FASU Afro-Varsity 3×3 Basketball Championship earlier in the year. At the West African University Games (WAUG) in Ile-Ife, that determination resulted in the Nile Spartans winning the men's basketball gold medal by defeating Lead City University 66-56 in the final.

The victory added to Nile's growing record in Nigerian university basketball, following its men's basketball title at the 2025 Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) Games and triumph at the 2026 Bullet Energy Drink Invitational Tournament. The Spartans are also competitors in Nigeria's men's basketball premier league, setting them apart from most university teams and establishing their reputation as arguably the leading force in the country's university basketball sector.

However, the WAUG title carried a major significance after the disappointment of the team's recent 3×3 campaign. "As you can see, we fought from the start to the finish. We won every game by a margin of at least nine points. That shows that we were not just physically prepared, we were also mentally prepared from the start to the finish". Precious said after the final.

The Spartans coasted through the WAUG basketball competition with an unbeaten run winning each game by at least nine points. Their performance in the final, however required them to respond to a Lead City side that remained competitive for three quarters before Nile found the decisive advantage in the closing period.

Lead City took the first quarter 18-15 but Nile responded with a 17-11 second quarter to establish a 32-29 half-time lead. Lead City then won the third quarter 18-15, drawing level at 47-47 and thus setting up a closely contested final period.

Nile took control in the fourth quarter, outscoring Lead City 19-9 to secure the ten-point victory. The decisive performance in the fourth quarter was what paved the Spartans' route to gold with Precious insisting that the team maintained its intensity even when it appeared to have established a comfortable advantage.

"We're Spartans for a reason. For us, it's never over until the last minute so we fought till the end of the game" he said. "If you noticed in the game, we were up 11 points at two minutes to go. Some teams would just start playing nonchalant, start playing relaxed but we were still fighting. That's the Nile culture".

For Precious, that culture is tied to the standards he encountered when he joined the university. The Petroleum Economics student said being appointed captain gave him an added responsibility to uphold those expectations and ensure they were reflected in the team's performances. "I came to the school and I saw the approach to excellence. They made me captain, I had to follow the culture, it has been a part of me and now it's a part of everyone in the school" he said. "You can't be mediocre and you can't be average. Also, you always have to go for the best result possible".

The captain credited Nile's leadership and sports personnel for supporting the basketball programme, singling out Vice-Chancellor Professor Dilli Dogo and Sports Director Hamza Abubakar, alongside the coaching staff led by Coach Stanley.

That backing from the institution has accompanied the team's rise in recent years. Beyond its successes at NUGA and Invitational tournaments, Nile's participation in the Nigerian Basketball Premier League has given its players exposure to a competitive environment beyond university sports. The WAUG title thus further strengthens its position among Nigeria's most successful university basketball programmes.

Precious, however sees the team's ambitions extending beyond domestic university competitions. He identified the Basketball Africa League (BAL) as a major target while acknowledging that injuries and other setbacks had affected the team's previous season. "The goal is representing Nigeria in the BAL" he said. "Unfortunately, we fell short in our previous season due to injuries and unforeseen circumstances, you know. But we're a team. Like I said, we're resilient. We're going to fight back."

With another NUGA campaign ahead, the Spartans will have further opportunities to continue to elevate their standing in Nigerian university basketball. Its WAUG gold medal gives the team something to build on as it pursues its ambitions across university and club basketball. For the Spartans, the challenge now is to sustain the consistency that carried them through an unbeaten campaign in Ile-Ife and translate that success into further progress in and beyond university basketball.

By Victor Oluwaseun Olabisi