Basketball in Africa

AHIP Giants of Kano were on Friday beaten 81-59 by the Union Bank team at the National Stadium, Lagos in continuation of their Road Trip games in the Atlantic Conference. It was the third loss for the Savannah Conference team out of the five games played so far on the road.

The Union Bankers were tipped by bookmakers to win and did play according leading through the four quarters. The Bankers team had struggled in their first game of the season when they faced Dodan Warriors but showed a lot of improvement in the Friday night game despite the spirited fight of the visitors. Some of the key players who could not feature in the game were on court last night. Poor defence was the bane of AHIP who had started well on the trip taking two of the first three matches played in the zone.

“We started off slowly because we had a lot reshuffling and blending to do but be sure that as the season continues things will get faster and better and then we’ll play like a team that really wants to win the title,” Ayinla Johnson of Union Bank said.

The road games for AHIP will continue this afternoon in Lagos as they step out against erstwhile national champions Lagos Islanders. It will be the first game of the season for the Islanders whose assets and liabilities have been taken over by a new management. The match will be the last for AHIP on the road through the Atlantic. Customs of the Atlantic Conference are the next team for the road games and will start with the match against Niger Potters on the 28th of this month. But before they embark on the road, Customs will tomorrow battled Dodan Warriors in Lagos in a game billed for 4pm.

By Pius Ayinor