NIGERIA : Customs Celebrate Win, Sunshine Battle First Bank

KANO (National female league) - Customs basketball ladies defeated their Immigration counterparts on Sunday in the Zenith Bank League and thumped their chests as they say the win was to mark their return process into the big league. Customs coach in the competition holding in Kano, Abba ‘Jagu’ Mohammed said the win was significant as the management of the team is working round the clock to return the team to the top where they used to be through the 1990s and into this decade.

“As you know the female league was all about Customs and First Bank because of the hot rivalry between both sides until things took sudden down turn for us and these new teams took over. But if you watch the trend of things now it is no longer business as usual. You will notice that even in the games we have lost here in Kano, our opponents worked extra hard to beat us. I believe by the time we get into the second phase we would have gotten the right rhythm to takes us back to where we truly belong. We belong to the top two and nothing less and that where we are aiming at. We are doing our best to encourage our management to back us to the fullest this season and in future,” Mohammed said.

The win was the third for Customs having beaten FCT Angels and walking over Dolphins in the process.

In the first match of Monday, AHIP Queens of Kano defeated FCT Angels 75-49 while the second match between Sunshine Angles and Immigration ladies ended 70-34 in favour of Sunshine. The Sunshine girls took charge from the jump ball winning all quarters and leading from the start to the buzzer.

The highlight of Tuesday competition will be the match between First Bank and Sunshine girls. That will be the last match of the day but before that clash, the jump ball will be taken between Deepwater and Immigration in a game experts have already voted in favour of Deepwater. Delta Force will face AHIP in the second match of the day while the next match will be between Plateau Rocks and FCT.

The competition will round off on Thursday as they get ready for the next phase in Asaba.

By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa