10 December 2012
Nigeria: Rivers Edge Out Lagos to Reach Basketball Final
Rivers' men's basketball has defeated Team Lagos by 65 to 58 in the ongoing 18th National Sports Festival, "Eko2012".
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the match witnessed several interruptions by angry fans during the fourth quarter when Team Lagos was down by 10 points.
This development forced the officials to halt the game for 20 minutes in the last period of the game.
Rivers, coach Fubara Oyenabor expressed delight on the outcome of the result saying that he was confident that his team would outscore Lagos as soon as the game started.
"I am happy we have reached the basketball final as defending champions. Now we have a chance to prove that we are no pushovers in basketball. Lagos and its fans should be able to accept defeat when it comes, the sports festival is to bring people together and not for war," Oyenabor said.
In his reaction, Lagos coach Mark Balogun said his boys lost the game due to loss of concentration and fatigue.
"We lost concentration from the beginning and we could not recover when Rivers was leading in the first quarter with 11 points gap. Our three-point shooter could not convert the necessary baskets and we also lost several free throw points that could have changed the course of the game. We will play for bronze and hope to win in our next match," Balogun said.
Rivers will play Oyo in the final while Lagos meets Plateau for the bronze medal.
However, the Lagos women's basketball team defeated their counterparts from Delta by 51-43 in a well contested game.
Coach Adewunmi Aderemi said he was delighted with the result and promised to win the gold medal.
"We have reached the final, which is our ultimate aim. We played against a good team today that exposed most of our weaknesses. We will surely work on this and ensure that we win the gold medal," Aderemi said.
In other fixtures, Oyo beat Plateau by 59-55 while Rivers trounced FCT by 52-45 to book a place in the final.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the match witnessed several interruptions by angry fans during the fourth quarter when Team Lagos was down by 10 points.
This development forced the officials to halt the game for 20 minutes in the last period of the game.
Rivers, coach Fubara Oyenabor expressed delight on the outcome of the result saying that he was confident that his team would outscore Lagos as soon as the game started.
"I am happy we have reached the basketball final as defending champions. Now we have a chance to prove that we are no pushovers in basketball. Lagos and its fans should be able to accept defeat when it comes, the sports festival is to bring people together and not for war," Oyenabor said.
In his reaction, Lagos coach Mark Balogun said his boys lost the game due to loss of concentration and fatigue.
"We lost concentration from the beginning and we could not recover when Rivers was leading in the first quarter with 11 points gap. Our three-point shooter could not convert the necessary baskets and we also lost several free throw points that could have changed the course of the game. We will play for bronze and hope to win in our next match," Balogun said.
Rivers will play Oyo in the final while Lagos meets Plateau for the bronze medal.
However, the Lagos women's basketball team defeated their counterparts from Delta by 51-43 in a well contested game.
Coach Adewunmi Aderemi said he was delighted with the result and promised to win the gold medal.
"We have reached the final, which is our ultimate aim. We played against a good team today that exposed most of our weaknesses. We will surely work on this and ensure that we win the gold medal," Aderemi said.
In other fixtures, Oyo beat Plateau by 59-55 while Rivers trounced FCT by 52-45 to book a place in the final.
# posted by afrbk : 16:05
