NIGERIA : Pillars Celebrate Top 8 Crown

By Wale Joseph

Players and officials of Kano Pillars Basketball Club yesterday celebrated their supremacy on the local scene with a sweet victory over Lagos Islanders in the final of the NBBF/DSTV Premier Basketball League for Men.

The match that was played at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, saw the team from the Savannah Conference beat their counterparts from Atlantic Conference by 84-72 points to win back to back the league trophy plus N1million cash reward.

Pillars won three quarters out of the four quarters in the game. They won the first quarter 23-16 and the second quarter 21-15, lost the third quarter 16-20 before rallying to stop the Islanders 23-21 on accumulated 84-72 points.

A joyous Pillars’ head coach, Sani Ahmed gave Allah the glory for the victory, saying that it not easy playing the Islanders, but with experience, they were able to beat their opponents.

Ahmed, who is D’Tigers’ assistant coach, commended the Islanders for putting up a good fight and praised his boys for their fighting spirit.

The team’s assistant captain, Adamu Yusuf also commended his teammates for working together as a team and stayed focus throughout the match. He, however, praised their opponents for giving good account of themselves, adding that the match could have gone either way.