The Kwara Falcons of Ilorin has beat Warlords Basketball Club of Abeokuta 69-67 in a strong contest match to win the Sam Oguche Basketball Championship on Sunday in Lagos.
The Sam Oguche Basketball championship had began on Tuesday at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium.
It had ten elite basketball clubs competing for honours.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Kwara Falcons went home with the championship trophy and a N1 million cash prize, while Warlords went home with N500,000.
Baba Jubril, the Head Coach of Kwara Falcons, also told NAN that he was proud of his team’s performance.
I’m excited about the victory. It was deserved and credit goes to my team for their hard work and resilience, Jubril said.
Some other clubs that competed in the event include Comets, Rivers Hoopers, Lagos Legends, Nigeria Correction Service, Hot Coal of Abuja, Greizly Bears, Raptors and Mibaha of Benue.
In the women’s competition, First Bank of Lagos beat MFM basketball club 52-50 to emerge victorious.
Taiye Adenitis, the Head Coach of First Bank, said the team deserved their hard-fought victory.
The coach said they had wanted to do more but the MFM team were on another level.
It was a very competitive game. We had the best players and should dominate the game easily, but the MFM team were stoic and pushed us at every department,
But we look forward to more competitions like this to keep us busy, Adenitis said.
Joy Ebega, Captain of First Bank, on her part said the team worked hard for the victory going by the fact they won six straight games.
It shows how good the team is. It’s a great victory for us and a big ‘thanks’ to Sam Oguche for the competition and we just want to prove ourselves as a solid team that works hard to achieve, Ebega said.
Umuamaka Okoh, the captain for the MFM team, also said that the team gave their best and lost by a narrow margin.
According to her, the team would come out better and stronger in the next edition of the competition.
Some teams in the women’s competition included First Deepwater, Tap Queens, War Queens Lagos, Air Warriors, Sunshine of Akure, Raptors and Peace Academy.