Afolabi Johnson
Nigeria Customs male basketball team came from three sets down yesterday to win their opening match in Mark D Ball Elite 8 final championship by beating Delta Force 70-66 in a match dominated by the losers.
Delta Force were clearly the better side in the first set winning with 6 clear points 18-12 against the highly rated Customs side.
The secon set also ended in favour of the boys from the Niger Delta region who won with a 10 points margin at 55-45.
The third set also ended well for the Delta side at 70-66 before the Customs side bounced back in the last set to win with a 4points margin.
Speaking after the match a visibly angry Customs Coach Mohammed Abba blamed his boys for the lacklustre performance.
He said that the encounter would have been a walkover if they had been in a good form.
“We won the game in the last quarter in which we were trailing by 14 points because we rested our best hands towards the end of the encounter and it paid off as we are able to triumph at the end,” he said.
He added that they hope to correct their mistakes and take the FCT HardRockers team to the cleaners in their next match and qualify for the semifinal and final.
“Our ambition is to get to the final and win the maiden edition of the Mark D Ball Elite basketball championship,” he explained.
The competition which continues today with teams like Kano Pillars, Mo Heat, Hot Coal Ballers, Kwara Falcons and Gombe Bulls will come to an end this weekend.
