Basketball in Africa

Lagos Islanders who are on Road Trip through the Savannah Conference in the Nigerian Premier League got their first win on Tuesday when they defeated host team Tapgun Rockets 64-57. The match played in Jos, Plateau State was the second for the Islanders who left the commercial city of Lagos by the weekend for the long journey through the northern region of the country.

The trip opened with the match in Minna against the Niger Potters on Monday. It was a game of former national champions and Islanders were well drilled 102-63. It was the widest winning margin for Potters in Minna this season.
"All we needed in Minna was the participatory one point which we got. The scare of what nearly happened when Union Bank point guard got injured here is just too fresh for us to play to win. We are still in good spot for the play off so there isn't any need killing ourselves over a point," an official of the Islanders team told FIBA.COM.
In Jos the Islanders were favoured by bookmakers to win in the match against the Rockets and they got the maximum points. They are billed to play the second match in Jos against Plateau Peaks but that pairing is of different class as the Peaks are one time league champions. The conditions favour Peaks to win although Peaks just returned from Kano where they were beaten 75-62 by the Pillars.
The Islanders will continue with the trip with a move to Bauchi on Thursday where they will play Bauchi Nets and Yelwa Hawks before the final rounds in Kano by the weekeend.

By Pius Ayinor