Both teams defeated Royal Hoopers and Dodan Warriors respectively in the semi final played on Monday at the Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos.
Islanders who finished the regular season as champions of the Atlantic Conference defeated Royal Hoopers of Port Harcourt 86-81 to confirm their top rating. The result did not go against expert predictions and the Hoopers gave the winners quite a tough time as only predicted. The Pillars who also arrived in Lagos as regular season winners of the Savannah Conference defeated Dodan Warriors by 79-73 to book the match up against Islanders.
In any case, both finalists have by that status, already won the Nigerian tickets to the 2009 African Men’s Club competition which has the FIBA Africa zone 3 qualifiers billed for Niamey, Niger Republic this month.
The closing ceremony the Dstv season will commence at 2pm today with the third place match between Dodan Warriors and Royal Hoopers. Both won their home games when they met during the regular season. The match is a close one to call until the buzzer. The real deal is the final match at 4pm between Islanders and Pillars. Both teams have won the Nigerian league in the past with the Pillars as the defending champions this time. The match is expected to be real fireworks with all highs of a championship match. Islanders dropped only one regular season match while the Pillars also dominated their zone. The match will be followed by presentation of trophies and cash prizes at the same venue.
By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa