22 November 2006
NIGERIA : Peaks sets up Petro q/final tie
The Plateau Peaks of Jos improved to 3-2 on Wednesday after an 84-67 win over Africa Sports of Ivory Coast in a Group B match of the FIBA Africa Champions Cup holding in Lagos to set up a quarterfinal tie with Petro Atletico of Angola.
Shooting guard Usman Abubakar paced the Peaks with 19 points, while swingman Stanley Gumut had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Plateau’s victory did not look certain until the final quarter as the Ivorians stayed close to the Peaks, which had beaten it twice in the qualifiers last September in Abidjan.
“We stayed focussed in spite of losing our first three games,” said Austin Gompil, the coach of the Nigerian champion. “We always knew we could do it. We didn’t give up.
“We had beaten Africa Sports twice and we were aware of their strength and weakness so we were primed for a win.”
Gompil praised the contribution of Scott Nnaji, a former player of the Peaks, who is now the head coach of the Nigeria Customs.
“I’m the only coach on the team and we needed somebody who has an experience of the teams we are playing and Nnaji fits the bill,” Gompil said.
The Plateau gaffer said he was not intimidated by the reputation of Petro Atletico ahead of their quarterfinal tie on Friday.
“We will fight to the end,” Gompil said. “Petro are a very good side but we have to face them. We’ll play till the end.”
Host team, Dodan Warriors, qualified for the quarterfinals on Tuesday after a come-from-behind win over BACK of Guinea in what is easily the most entertaining match of the tournament so far.
Forward Bukar Mohammed was easily the man-of-the-match, coming off the bench to score spectacular baskets after BACK surged ahead in the second quarter.
Alex Owoicho, the coach of the Warriors, said the players were lethargic in the first half due to their fractious loss to Petro Atletico the previous day.
A win over Inter Club of Congo Brazzaville in its last match on Wednesday will pit the Warriors into a likely quarterfinal tie against ESPN/AND1 of South Africa on Friday.
Twelve teams are participating in Lagos 2006, although Thursday is a rest day.
Action will resume on Friday with the two classification matches. The four quarterfinal ties will follow this.
Shooting guard Usman Abubakar paced the Peaks with 19 points, while swingman Stanley Gumut had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Plateau’s victory did not look certain until the final quarter as the Ivorians stayed close to the Peaks, which had beaten it twice in the qualifiers last September in Abidjan.
“We stayed focussed in spite of losing our first three games,” said Austin Gompil, the coach of the Nigerian champion. “We always knew we could do it. We didn’t give up.
“We had beaten Africa Sports twice and we were aware of their strength and weakness so we were primed for a win.”
Gompil praised the contribution of Scott Nnaji, a former player of the Peaks, who is now the head coach of the Nigeria Customs.
“I’m the only coach on the team and we needed somebody who has an experience of the teams we are playing and Nnaji fits the bill,” Gompil said.
The Plateau gaffer said he was not intimidated by the reputation of Petro Atletico ahead of their quarterfinal tie on Friday.
“We will fight to the end,” Gompil said. “Petro are a very good side but we have to face them. We’ll play till the end.”
Host team, Dodan Warriors, qualified for the quarterfinals on Tuesday after a come-from-behind win over BACK of Guinea in what is easily the most entertaining match of the tournament so far.
Forward Bukar Mohammed was easily the man-of-the-match, coming off the bench to score spectacular baskets after BACK surged ahead in the second quarter.
Alex Owoicho, the coach of the Warriors, said the players were lethargic in the first half due to their fractious loss to Petro Atletico the previous day.
A win over Inter Club of Congo Brazzaville in its last match on Wednesday will pit the Warriors into a likely quarterfinal tie against ESPN/AND1 of South Africa on Friday.
Twelve teams are participating in Lagos 2006, although Thursday is a rest day.
Action will resume on Friday with the two classification matches. The four quarterfinal ties will follow this.
# posted by afrbk : 19:11
