Leaders of Unites #114 - Eteh Oritsetimeyin

I was eight years old when I first came into contact with basketball. The brother of one of my friends asked me if I wanted to join a try out at Almere Pioneers. Although I had never played basketball myself, I was already a fan of the sport. I watched the NBA a lot. I was a huge fan of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

I loved the spectacle: the dunks, the crazy moves, and the unpredictable scores. It often felt like anything could happen. Even if a team was far behind, a few two- or three-pointers could make it exciting again. The players never gave up. I like that mentality a lot.

Once I set foot on the court myself, I quickly found my passion. I liked it even more than football. Basketball lets you be more creative and express yourself as an individual. It was also the first time I joined a club, and I got to meet many new people.

My study to become a logistics team leader suits me well

I played for Almere Pioneers for nine years in total, but I stopped two years ago. There weren’t really any opportunities to move forward anymore, and I wanted to free up more time for my study. I’m currently studying to become a logistics team leader in Lelystad. I’m not exactly sure what I want to do after I graduate, but I still have about a year and a half left, and I really enjoy the study because it suits my personality.

At Almere Pioneers, I was often one of the players who took the lead. I was even team captain for two years. I enjoy taking initiative and being in a leadership role. So when 3X3 Unites came to our club to talk about their 3X3 Leader Course, I immediately knew it was something for me.

During the 3X3 Leader Course, I mainly learned to be patient at times, how to collaborate, and how to think in terms of teamwork. As a final project for the course, we organized a 3x3 basketball event in Almere. That was really awesome and a huge success. Everyone joined in and had a great time.

We received our certificates last year during the World Tour Amsterdam at the Gashouder. I’ll never forget that. I had never been to the World Tour before. We even received our certificates on the court, while hundreds of people were watching from the stands. Everyone applauded for us. For a moment, I felt like an NBA star.

It felt great to contribute to the World Tour Amsterdam 

This year, I helped out for the first time during the World Tour Amsterdam. I was part of the ticketing team, but I also walked around a lot. Everywhere I looked, I saw smiling faces—including basketball fans from abroad. That’s not something you experience often at smaller events or regular basketball games. 

It felt great to contribute to the World Tour Amsterdam 

This year, I helped out for the first time during the World Tour Amsterdam. I was part of the ticketing team, but I also walked around a lot. Everywhere I looked, I saw smiling faces—including basketball fans from abroad. That’s not something you experience often at smaller events or regular basketball games. 

It feels great to be able to contribute to such a major event and at the same time watch the best 3x3 basketball players in the world in action. Let’s be honest: opportunities like that don’t come around often. These are players you look up to. I saw some of the craziest dunks and tricks.

As a 3X3 Leader, I haven’t organized my own event yet. But if it’s up to me, that’s going to happen soon. I want to share my passion for basketball and get others excited about it too. I know better than anyone how much fun it can be and how many new people you can meet.

Although I’m no longer a member of Almere Pioneers, I’m still very involved in basketball. I regularly play in open tournaments and I’ve also participated in a 3x3 event in Amsterdam-Noord. Plus, I sometimes referee games at my old club.

My love for basketball is still going strong. And I want to keep spreading that love in every way I can.