How Atlantic conference subdue Savannah in
first DStv All-Stars Game - Jul 6, 2010
A new development was added to the Nigeria Basketball
League at the weekend with the staging of the ALL-STARS Weekend at the
magnificent Murtala Square Sports Complex, Kaduna by the Nigeria
Basketball Federation (NBBF).
The All-Stars Game served as a stop-gap for the one-week
break the Nigeria DStv Premier League enjoyed and to also create a
frontier among players of the two conferences (Atlantic and Savannah).
The weekend (last Sunday) began with the traditional Three-point contest
between six players drawn from both conferences with Shola Alayande of
the Lagos Islanders basketball club clinching the title in a superb
manner.
Alayande who won the Three-points shooting contest ten years back when
the All-Stars Game was last held in Lagos which he also won.
The shooting contest was followed by the Slam-Dunk contest which also
attracted six contestants from the two conference with young but
energetic Mattew Esiegbe carting away the winning plaque with a unique
dunk when he glide over two 6 foot, 10 inches tall players to jam the
ball into the net.
The big game between the best players selected from the two conference
soon take the center stage as the League Board of the Nigeria federation
approve the usage of the modern 3-man officiating comprising Pierre
Ndobegang (Cameroon); Ado Ahmed (Kano) and Ibrahim Hassan (Kaduna) with
Bala Usman serving as technical commissioner of the day.
The game started with both sides approaching the game with great caution
but the Atlantic conference drew the first blood when good exchange of
ball between conference starting point guard, Yomi Joshua of Ebun Comets
basketball club and Mohammed Bukar of Dodan Warriors resulted in the
first basket after forty seconds of play.
The Atlantic conference coached by the duo of Coaches Ogoh Odaudu of
Royal Hoopers basketball club of Port Harcourt and Mark Balogun of the
Police Baton basketball club of Lagos went ahead to win the first
quarter by 30-14 points.
Savannah conference charged back in the second and third quarters which
they won by 27-20 and 24-17 points to narrow the gap between them and
their Atlantic conference counterpart to just two points of 67-65 points
going into the final quarter.
The game took a dramatic turn with the introduction of Shola Alayande at
the beginning of the fourth quarter who scored two straight 3-pointer to
further widen the gap between them and the Savannah conference while
Bukar and Joshua did not drop their contribution as the Atlantic
conference went on to win the game by 93-82 points with Bukar carting
home the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
NBBF president, Tijjani Umar expresses satisfaction with the outcome of
the weekend and promised that the federation will continue to uphold the
importance of the All-Stars Games.
Alayande, Abubakar lead Atlantic, Savannah
conference All-Star team - Jun 30, 2010
2002/ 2003 Nigeria U18/ U19 national team captain, Sola Alayande and
Abubakar Usman are leading the Atlantic and Savannah conference All-Star
challenge in the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) All-Star Weekend
billed for the sports hall of Murtala Square Sports Complex, Kaduna on
Sunday.
Alayande who was selected from Lagos Islanders basketball
club was captain of the Nigerian junior national team that won the FIBA
Africa Championship for U18 Men in Egypt in 2002 and went on to
represent Africa at the 2003 edition of the FIBA U19 World Championship
held in Thessalonica, Greece alongside Abubakar Usman drawn from Kano
Pillars basketball club to represent the Savannah conference.
Other players who made the Atlantic conference All-Star team include,
Mohammed Bukar and Edwin Jerry from Dodan Warriors basketball club, Yomi
Joshua and Obum Onyia from Ebun Comets basketball club, Victor Anthony
and Musa Usman from Royal Hoopers basketball club of Port Harcourt,
Azuoma Dike and Onyeka Ekpete from Union Bank basketball club, Malik
Tella drawn from the Police Baton basketball club, Yomi Oyeniyi from
Delta Force and Jabiru Lawal from Nigeria Customs basketball club.
And other players selected to represent the Savannah conference at the
All-Star Weekend are 2006 FIBA Africa U18 Championship star, Ibrahim
Yusuf and Kelvin Nambam from kano Pillars basketball club; Manasseh Achi
and Akpara Akita from Bauchi Nets basketball club; Prince Eze from Yelwa
Hawks basketball club; Adeolu Olaiya and Isiaka Yusuf from Kadda Stars
basketball club; Shehu Mohammed from Niger Potters basketball club of
Minna; Rabiu Sani from AHIP Giants basketball club of Kano; Victor
Zammeh from Plateau Peaks basketball club of Jos and Habib Hassan from
Tapgun Rockets basketball club of Jos completes the roster.
Yalwa Hawks captain and former Niger Potters and Plateau Peaks
basketball clubs off-guard, Jeffery Lohor lead the Three-Point contest
challenge. Lohor will be competing against Sabo Gabriel of Niger Potters
basketball club of Minna and Richiyo Dickson of Kadda Stars basketball
club of Kaduna.
In the slam-dunk contest has Mattew Omoye of Kano Pillars basketball
club, Mattew Esiebge of Kadda Stars basketball club and Ochebi Okpe from
Plateau Peaks basketball club vying for honours.
The two All-Star teams will be coached by Ogoh Odaudu of Royal Hoopers
basketball club of Port Harcourt and Mark Balogun of the Police Baton
basketball club of Lagos for the Atlantic conference while Sani Ahmed of
Kano Pillars basketball club and Sani Turi of Kadda Stars basketball
club of Kaduna takes charge of the Savannah conference side.
All the players and official according to the chairman of the NBBF
Technical Committee are expected in Kaduna by Friday evening while both
teams will have a light work-out on Saturday for proper bonding of the
players before the big show on Sunday.
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