Basketball in Africa

(by Olusegun Ikuesan)
With two games left in the regular season of the Atlantic conference of the DStv Premier Basketball League, Union Bank basketball club climb to the top of the conference log at the weekend with an 86-56 points win over Islanders basketball club in a week-12 pairing.

The win over the former Nigeria four-peat champion (Islanders) thus bring Union Bank basketball club record to 11-1 for 23 points to displaced Royal Hoopers basketball club of Port Harcourt who is now second while Comets basketball club is placed third.

Union Bank BC next game will be against Comets basketball club next weekend at the sports hall of the national stadium, Surulere, Lagos and complete the regular season against Police Baton basketball club on May 8.

Action is expected to resume in the Savannah conference of the league soon after post presidential election violence caused the League Board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation to put games in the conference on hold.

League Board chairman and federation 1st-Vice President, muktar Adamu Khaleh says the federation is watching events as it affect teams in the Savannah conference but gave assurance that with nomalcy returning to the areas the board will soon announce continuation of league games in the conference so as to finish the regular season on time.

Eight teams (four from each of the two conferences) are expected to make it to the final-8 playoffs with Kano Pillars basketball club as defending champion.

...... Dodan Warriors cage Police Baton 63-51

Coming from a 12-17 points lose in the first quarter of their week-12 pairing in Lagos on Sunday Dodan Warriors basketball club inch closer to a final-8 playoff qualification caging Police Baton basketball club by 63-51 points.

The Coach Adeka Daudu tutored Warriors reacted like a true warriors winning the second quarter by 19-08 points to take a 31-25 points advantage into the break, efforts by Coach Mark Balogun and his Police side to upstage the warriors at the resumption of play in the third quarter was rebuffed as both sides shared the 14points made in the quarter evenly (07-07) but it was the Warriors who took the initiative in the deciding quarter with compact offensive and defensive style of play, the full-court offense and defense thus yielded results of the 2006 FIBA Africa Champions Cup third place finisher winning the quarter by 25-19 points.

The results gave the Warriors a sound fourth placement on the log of the Atlantic conference with a 7-6 records.