Sports
NBBF Championship: Zamfara Beats Benue 63-51
Zamfara Shooters bas
ketball team of Gusau defeated the Pearls of Benue 63-51 at the ongoing National Men’s Basketball Division Two Championship.
It is the third win for the Zamfara side after beating Hard Rockers of FCT 57-49 and thrashing Coal City Kings of Enugu State 75-51 in their previous matches.
The championship, which is holding at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Abuja National Stadium, is organised by the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF).
In the game, the Benue side dominated the early moments and raced to a 25-19 lead, before losing grip for the Zamfara side to return into contention.
Coach Muhammad Umar of Zamfara was in jubilant mood after the match, praising his players and expressing optimism that they would keep up the momentum.
“I am happy that we won, though it was a challenging game. But we have once again proved to be unbeatable. Even though both teams played very well, but we are better.
“My players have been doing very well and I am proud of them because we have played three matches and have won all’’.
He was however optimistic that the team would win their remaining two matches based on their experience and exposure.
“We will approach every match as they come and I am sure that with our experience and exposure we will win our remaining two matches,’’ Umar said.
On his part, Spencer Chileh, the coach of Pearls Basketball Academy, said he was not disappointed his team lost.
“I am not disappointed because we rarely have competition for this level of players. So, there is no way for them to try out their skills.
“I am quite satisfied, because this is the first time we are playing in a championship like this and we hope to do better.
“We lost to the Zamfara side, which is a more experienced and matured side compared to our players who are of ages ranging from 17 to 22.
“But, even though we have lost two matches and won one, I am still sure that we will make it to the top,’’ Chileh said.
Our correspondent reports that Pearls of Benue had lost 48-50 to Gilali of Kaduna State and defeated Hard Rockers of FCT 61-55 in their previous matches.
In the other matches played on Wednesday, Hard Rockers defeated Solid Hits of Nasarawa State 72-63 while Coal City Kings of Enugu State lost 41-58 to Gilali.
The championship, according to agency report, is the latest addition to the federation’s programmes, designed to help in growing players through the Division One League to the DSTV Premier League.
The top team out of the six teams participating in the championship will be promoted to the Division One League.
The championship which began on October 27 is expected to end on October 31.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.