KADUNA (Zenith Bank League) - Averagely rated AHIP Queens of Kano pushed perennial champions First Bank to the limit on Wednesday with the Bankers scrambling to a single point win over the Kano girls. The match which was won 48-47 at the very last minute has already been voted the Match-of-the-Week by followers of the game of basketball as the first phase of the Zenith Bank League plays into the last days.
AHIP ladies took charge from the jump ball and won the first quarter by 6 – 5. First Bank girls rallied back to win the second quarter at 10-12 but those who imagined that the AHIP Queens first quarter performance was a fluke watched closely as they again won the third quarter by 24-17. The Elephant Girls put down every trick of the game to win the fourth quarter 14-7 to save themselves blushes. The First Bank ladies have won the Zenith League since inception four years ago and won all 27 matches played last season. If they had lost, it would have been their first drop this season. But before that match that generated a lot of excitement at the Murtala Mohammed Square in Kaduna, four other matches had been decided. In one of them Dolphins of Lagos defeated Delta Force of Asaba 57-53. It was one game that many fans expected a wider margin given the performance of both teams so far this season.
The coach and proprietor of Dolphins, Wale Aboderin told FIBA there were too many factors to contend with in that match.
“Yes many people expected a wider margin but the game had to go the way it ended. Not many people know that we are using a lot of fresh players who have not played in any league before. Most of my girls are coming into the league for the very first time and so they are really frightened when it comes to intimidation and flying elbows. And those were the kind of things we saw in this game (against Delta). So much of intimidation and pushing took place in the game but some how the action of the Delta Force girls were not noticed by the referees. Given the situation we did well to have to won the match and picked the maximum points.”
Wednesday Results
Deepwater 88 Immigration 18
Dolphins 57 Delta 53
Plateau 51 FCT 35
Customs 45 Sunshine 66
AHIP 47 First Bank 48
By Pius Ayinor
FIBA Africa