With the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL) now underway in Kigali, Nigerian comedian Bright Okpocha, mostly known by his stage name Basketmouth, couldn’t hide his excitement about the continental tournament, which is already entertaining the basketball community globally. Basketmouth is among a host of celebrities, including musicians and current and former NBA stars, who came to Rwanda for the Basketball Africa League. The comedian has been visiting Rwanda on a number of occasions, mainly coming for comedy shows, but his love for the basketball game brought him back to the country. “My name is Basketmouth, so Basketball [laughs],” he said in a tweet posted to the Visit Rwanda Twitter account, adding “And that was one of the reasons why I kind of love the basketball game. We kind of have something in common” Basketmouth describes the BAL’s current environment and vibes around host nation Rwanda as beautiful and quite similar to the NBA’s. “Now this is beautiful. I walked in and it seemed like I was in the [United] States. The way it is outside, and the team played so well. Our country is beautiful, the hosts… everything is just so nice,” he said. “I love the fact that I am part of history in the making. [Because] this is the first time it’s happening, it’s not going to be the last and the first inaugural game was just out of this world,” he added. With his current love affair with Rwanda, the comedian also recommended that the global community come to the country and not just for a visit but for a lengthy stay. “I want to do it again. I want you guys to visit Rwanda. Not once, not twice,… come here and live, we will give you papers. Right?” he said. Besides the comedian, more celebrities are in the country to grace the BAL. They include musicians Ommy Dimpoz, Congolese-Swedish singer Mohombi, former NBA players of African origin like former Orlando Magic player Olumide Oyedeji, British-Ghanaian Pops Mensah Bonsu, French Ian Mahinmi and Sudanese Luol Deng, who is the current BAL brand ambassador. Others include American DJ Poizon Ivy, who is currently the BAL’s official music and sound coordinator, and American rapper J Cole who is part of the Patriots Basketball team’s roster. The rapper, who released his new album ‘The Off-Season’ last week, scored three points, with two assists and three rebounds in Patriots opening game to beat Nigerian giants Rivers Hoopers on Sunday, May 16 at Kigali Arena.
