25 July 2014
NIGERIA : Aderemi Wants to Dominate Africa
ONE could see relief dripping off Adewunmi Aderemi as he walked into
the sports hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, where the DSTV Premier
Basketball League Final Eight was taking place at the weekend.
His club, First Bank Basketball Club, had just wrestled the Zenith Bank Women Basketball League trophy from First Deepwater Basketball Club, after many years of playing second fiddle (four seasons) to the oil girls.
With fans acknowledging his presence with cheers and basketball buffs commending him for having the courage to win the title again after several disappointments, Aderemi could only wave and return their pleasantries because his mind was on a higher challenge.
What could be so important to the veteran coach?
Adewunmi told The Guardian that reclaiming the title, which his club dominated for several years, has made him value the title the more. "It is not easy to stay in the cooler for four seasons after dominating for so long. We were used to winning and falling behind was not a joke," he said.
The veteran coach noted that his team might have taken other teams for granted, while winning the title year in, year out, but he admitted that the emergence of First Deepwater and the good form of Dolphins of Lagos have made the league more competitive.
He said: "I guess the arrival of First Deepwater in the league and the good form of Dolphin has made the league more competitive and I hope other teams can raise their game, so that the league can become more vibrant.
"While I will like to dominate the league with my team once again, I will also want to do so with stiff competition from other teams. Again, I think some of the new teams and others who have been in the elite division, did well this season. With a little bit of polishing and financial backing they will improve tremendously."
On his team, the coach popularly called Owolo, said recruiting new players would help the team do well at the continental level.
"The euphoria of winning the title has died down and we will be back to training on August 4. We want to prepare well for the qualifiers so that we can make it to the finals in Tunis. We are not going to rest on our oars in order to achieve great things now that we are back in our element," he added.
While commending the management of First Bank Plc for backing the team during the turbulent period, he noted that the team needs the management backing more than ever to realize its ambition of ruling Africa.
"What will want now is to recruit good players that can add value to the team. And we will need the support of the management to achieve our set goals," Aderemi added.
His club, First Bank Basketball Club, had just wrestled the Zenith Bank Women Basketball League trophy from First Deepwater Basketball Club, after many years of playing second fiddle (four seasons) to the oil girls.
With fans acknowledging his presence with cheers and basketball buffs commending him for having the courage to win the title again after several disappointments, Aderemi could only wave and return their pleasantries because his mind was on a higher challenge.
What could be so important to the veteran coach?
Adewunmi told The Guardian that reclaiming the title, which his club dominated for several years, has made him value the title the more. "It is not easy to stay in the cooler for four seasons after dominating for so long. We were used to winning and falling behind was not a joke," he said.
The veteran coach noted that his team might have taken other teams for granted, while winning the title year in, year out, but he admitted that the emergence of First Deepwater and the good form of Dolphins of Lagos have made the league more competitive.
He said: "I guess the arrival of First Deepwater in the league and the good form of Dolphin has made the league more competitive and I hope other teams can raise their game, so that the league can become more vibrant.
"While I will like to dominate the league with my team once again, I will also want to do so with stiff competition from other teams. Again, I think some of the new teams and others who have been in the elite division, did well this season. With a little bit of polishing and financial backing they will improve tremendously."
On his team, the coach popularly called Owolo, said recruiting new players would help the team do well at the continental level.
"The euphoria of winning the title has died down and we will be back to training on August 4. We want to prepare well for the qualifiers so that we can make it to the finals in Tunis. We are not going to rest on our oars in order to achieve great things now that we are back in our element," he added.
While commending the management of First Bank Plc for backing the team during the turbulent period, he noted that the team needs the management backing more than ever to realize its ambition of ruling Africa.
"What will want now is to recruit good players that can add value to the team. And we will need the support of the management to achieve our set goals," Aderemi added.
# posted by afrbk : 19:12
