Lagos State Volleyball Association (LSVA) has assured that majority of secondary schools players featuring at the ongoing Lagos State Sports Festival tagged Ibile Games 2014 will be invited to camp ahead of the forthcoming DAWN Games scheduled to begin on May 16.
Technical Director, Suraj Olajide Olatuga told reporters on Monday that it has been a long time he has seen young volleyball players displaying tactical volleyball skills to the admiration of the association’s technical team, adding that the performance of the players have shown that volleyball has improved following the players’ second liner attack and floating service which are the most effective services in the sport.
Olatuga noted that the initiative behind the Lagos State Adopt- A-Talent Sport Programme has yielded positive result in the building of future Volleyball players for Lagos.
According to him, Lagos will be a team to beat in the volleyball event at the DAWN Games, a competition for Secondary schools in the Southwest of the country.
“We are having a total of 18 secondary schools of eleven boys schools and seven girls schools competing in the Volleyball event of Ibile Games.
In some of the games played on Monday at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, International School Lagos (ISL) defeated New Era Girls’ High School, 2- 0, while Rockford Secondary School defeated Command Day Secondary School, Ikeja, 2- 0 in the girls’ category.
United Christian Secondary School defeated Habibat Mogaji Secondary School, 2- 0 in the boys’ event.
The game is played on round robin format as the participating schools were paired in two groups of five teams in the boys’ event, while their girls counterparts were drawn in two groups of four teams.
The best two teams will qualify for the semi final holding on Tuesday, while finals are fixed for Wednesday.
Meanwhile, former Lagos State number one female table tennis player, Fatimo Bello, has expressed her happiness that she was able to use ongoing Ibile Games to prove that she is still a force to reckon with in the game.
Bello who was sanctioned by Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) was recently left off the hook from the ban placed on her since 2012.
Bello a left-hand player, who represented Itire Ikate LCDA, won the women’s singles after she defeated Alimot Ayinla of Lagos Mainland Local Government by four straight set of 11-8, 11-6, 12-10, 11-3, in the final decided at the knock-up hall of the National stadium, Surulere.
To reach the final, Bello, who was part of the Lagos State table tennis team that went on a training tour of Asia, prior to the 18th National Sports Festival, tagged EKO 2012 Games, beat, Sidi Yaya of Lagos Island West LCDA in the semi final clash.
“Many were thinking that because ofthe ban placed on me, I won’t be on top of my game at the Ibile games, but I’m glad that my critics have been proved wrong with the gold medal Ive won. I’m so happy and I thank God,” she said.
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