Highlights of the Kwesé Premier League Final-Eight Group Stage

Highlights of the Kwesé Premier League Final-Eight Group Stage By Abdulazeez Ibrahim (AZ) The thrills commenced right from tip off day when reigning savannah conference champions, Gombe Bulls lost their opening game to Atlantic conference team, Hoops & Read 79 to 81 points. The latter parading a very young team with few of the players remembered from last year’s finals when they finished as second runners up while making their league debut. Hoops and Read are a privately-owned basketball club based in Lagos with a slogan encouraging youngsters to play basketball and focus on their education while they are at it. The lads eventually emerged as the first team to qualify for the semi-finals of the final-eight, finishing ahead of Gombe Bulls in Group B with maximum 6 points from 3 games. Coach Charles Osho ‘s team boasts of the most domineering style of play and most players flaunting a reasonable scoring average to go with it. Youngster Owen Okhiri and new signing Moses Opkoje makeup for what they lack in size with excellent scoring which earned the pair MVP awards for Hoops and Read‘s games against Nigeria Customs and Bauchi Nets respectively. Against the paramilitary men of Nigeria customs on game day 3, five Hoops & Read players got double digit points. Owen Orikhi lead the list with 18 points while others are Moses Okpoye, Emeka Ajaegbe, Jide Ogunsemore and Micheal Daramola. It was the first game in the finals to reach the 100 point mark finishing at 101 to 67 against the coach Scot Nnaji-tutored side. Also on game day 3, Savannah conference neighbours Gombe Bulls and Bauchi Nets were left to slug it out in group B for the only available slot in the semifinals since Hoops and Read had clinched two other having won their first two games. It was a winner takes all encounter between familiar foe and a tight game from start to finish. Cheers in the arena began to crescendo along with a nerve testing fourth quarter when neither team could sustain a lead with a margin beyond 3 points as minutes wound down. Drama was imminent when a timeout was called with 0.09 seconds left on the clock, Bauchi Nets had possession while Bulls had a three point lead at 66-69. Unfortunately for the Bauchi team the three point effort by Oche Omaga bounced off the rim just as the buzzer went for full-time. In Group A defending champions Kano Pillars maintained dominance by defeating Kwara Falcon, Anambra Flames and fellow Kano team Ahip Giants to top the group. On game-day three Pillars firmly dealt a win by 32 points margin to the very competitive AHIP side coached by former D’Tigers handler Aderemi Adewunmi. The game ended at 121-80 for Pillars, setting up a mouthwatering clash in the semi-final between 2017 finalists and arch rivals Kano Pillars versus Gombe Bulls. The final group A game was billed to be a blockbuster encounter between the Anambra Flames and Kwara Falcon as both sides had won a game each before hand. The Easterners were however not able to match the Atlantic conference champions as they lost 34-76. Friday, October 5 was the customary rest day in which the officials of the NBBF and League management committee alongside the players of the various teams engaged in community service and visited the motherless babies homes. SEMI-FINALS FIXTURE Saturday, October 6, 2018 Kano Pillars Vs. Gombe Bulls ➡️ 4PM Hoops & Read Vs. Kwara Falcons ➡️ 6PM