Sports
Basketball: First Deepwater Retains Zenith Bank Title
The 9th Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball Final 8 Playoffs has ended on Saturday with defending champions, First Deepwater of Lagos retaining the trophy for the fourth consecutive time.
First Deepwater defeated city rivals, Dolphins 82-74 in a keenly contested match played at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos.
Dolphins, debuting in the final 8 Playoffs, had fascinated fans in the semi-finals as they sent off title favourites, First Bank of Lagos.
They, however, succumbed to First Deepwater’s superiority in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter.
Coach Lateef Erinfolami of First Deepwater said, “I am proud of my players, they have proved their quality in winning the trophy for the fourth consecutive time.
“This proves we are a team that can achieve together, and our motivation has always been hard work and the belief we have in ourselves.
“We look forward with confidence to the next challenge which is the continental Afrobasket Club Competition coming up later in the year,” he said.
His Dolphins counterpart, Ochuko Okworogun, said that she was proud of her team because reaching the final was a dream come true.
“I am okay with the second place trophy; we also have a chance to play continental club basketball, this is what we have been yearning for in the past. “There is going to be progress as from today in the history of the club for we are now determined to do well,” she said.
First Bank of Lagos came third after defeating Sunshine of Akure 68-52 in the third place match.
First Deepwater went home with a sum of N1,000,000 for coming first and Dolphins smiled home with N750,000 for placing second.
Third placed First Bank got N500,000.
A player with First Bank, Evelyn Akhator, won the best rebounder and shot blocker award, while Dolphins’ Nwakamma Amaka won that for the highest scorer with a cash reward of N50,000.
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award went to Nkechi Akashili, who also received a Samsung Galaxy Tab from Zenith Bank, while the competition’s fair play award went to Dolphins.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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