Kano Pillars celebrate another DSTV premier league title - Jul 1, 2016
Players and officials of Kano Pillars are in celebration mood after reclaiming the DSTV Premier League Basketball title with a convincing 71-53 victory over Nigerian Customs over the weekend at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES after their latest triumph, Pillars Coach, Sani Ahmed, said he was elated to end this season on a high after losing out to Mark Mentors last season. The coach, who commended the Nigeria Customs for their display in the final match, said the next target for his team is to represent the country well on the continent. 'We are very happy to reclaim the title; I must commend Nigeria Customs for giving us a good fight but the attention now is for us to do well on the continent,' the veteran coach declared. The latest triumph for Pillars is their fifth having also emerged champions in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014. Pillars have two FIBA Africa Champions Cup bronze medals (1985 and 1987) in their collection. On his part, Customs coach, Scott Nnaji , accepted the defeat honourably as this was the first time the team would be going this far. He said, 'The Pillars have been at this stage many times before and so they understood how to handle every situation. We were just playing our first finals in a long time and it should tell in many ways. 'The advantage we lacked was playing together for a long time and get both local and international exposures like our opponents today.' Chioma Afe, Marketing Manager, DStv, praised all the teams that made it to the Final 8 in Lagos as she reckoned that they all gave their best to make the 2015/16 season quite memorable. For Mrs. Afe, the electrifying atmosphere in the final where fans were treated to the beautiful game of basketball as well as all-round entertainment will be sustained and even improved upon in the coming seasons. 'I will like to congratulate all the teams especially Kano Pillars that emerged as Champions yet again, this has been a remarkable season and there are a lot of positives for us all,' she submitted. Meanwhile, Abubakar Usman (192-G-86) of Kano Pillars was voted the MVP for the Final 8 playoffs while his teammate Ibrahim Yusuf got the Award for the Best Assist. Enan Wilfried of Kwara Falcons won the Best Rebounder Award while the Fair play Award also went to Kwara Falcons. Courtesy of: premiumtimesng.com
DStv Basketball All-Stars Game: Late rally gives Savannah Conference 81-77 win over Atlantic Conference - May 15, 2016
Abubakar Usman's five points in the closing seconds on Saturday swung the game for Savannah Conference to beat Atlantic Conference 81-77 and win the DStv Premier Basketball League All-Stars Game. Atlantic Conference who were behind in the first two quarters of the game played at the Abuja National Stadium resurged in the third quarter to lead 77-76 with 25 seconds remaining. But Usman scored three points from free throws and then rose at the rim to score to take his game total to 13 points and help Savannah Conference reclaim the game. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Savannah Conference team were on top of their game in the first and second quarters of the game. The team coached by Sanni Ahmed led 31-22 after the first quarter and won the second 26-22 to lead 57-44 at half-time. But Atlantic Conference rallied back to win the third quarter 23-12, and were almost snatching victory after leading 10-7 in the fourth quarter for a 77-76 main scoreline. Then, with Stanley Gumut (198-F/G-86) (14 points) and Dele Ademola (199-F-89) (18 points) still trying to reenact their earlier performance, Usman scored five points for victory. Speaking after the match, coach Ahmed told NAN that his players were good considering the fact that the event was not a real competition. ''The players are great players, even though the All-Stars game is not a real competition but a game that everybody should enjoy. ''It is also an exhibition game where players come to showcase their talent. But, all the same, they did well and we thank God. ''This is also an avenue for the players to learn that team work pays and to also meet new players and learn their ways and know how to play against these guys when they come to play them in their original teams,'' he said. Courtesy of: nannewsnigeria.com
Nigerian Premier League All-Star Game 2016 Rosters - May 16, 2016
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