By Patrick Omorodion
After five years of dominating the country’s basketball scene, First Bank Basketball Club were Sunday night handed their first defeat in the last game of the 2009 Zenith Bank Female Basketball League decided at the National Stadium Lagos Indoor Sports Hall.
Two phases of the round robin league had earlier in the year been concluded in Kaduna and Asaba with the First Bank girls emerging winners but new entrants into the league, First Deepwater of Lagos were determined not to fall to them a third time.
Before the encounter, Deepwater coach, Lateef Erinfolami had told Sports Vanguard that they were ready to battle the Elephant girls as his girls have overcome the stage fright they earlier.
When the game started on Sunday, the two teams battled each other toe to toe and after two minutes none was able to score a point but after the first quarter ended, Deepwater which had a sprinkle of national team players, were 11 points better at 24-13.