DSTV Premier Basketball League Wk 6 Fixtures, Preview and Log

DSTV Premier Basketball League Wk 6 Fixtures, Preview and Log ( Fri, 11/4/2014)

ATLANTIC CONFERENCE
Islanders Vs Falcons – Lagos – 4pm
Oluyole Warriors Vs Union Bank- Ibadan-4pm
Dodan Warriors Vs Customs – Lagos- 6pm
Royal Hoopers Vs Police Baton- PH- 4pm

SAVANNAH CONFERENCE
Kada Stars Vs Gombe Bulls- Kaduna- 4pm
Plateau Peaks Vs Kano Pillars- Jos- 4pm
Mark Mentors Vs Immigration – Abuja- 4pm
Niger Potters Vs Bauchi Nets – Minna- 4pm

Preview Atlantic Conference:

Lagos Islanders who moved back to the summit of the table thanks to a 68-55 points victory over Oluyole Warriors will battle the impressive new campaigners Kwara Falcons who surprisingly lost at home last week to Police Baton. Islanders have won all their home games this season while Kwara Falcons have a 1-1 record in Lagos (their famous upset of Union Nank and their narrow loss to Dodan Warriors)

Oluyole Warriors also boasts of a 4game winning streak at home will take on Union Bank who seems to have gotten their mojo back after a stuttering season.

Union Bank are on a 3game winning streak will face a tough battle against the Warriors at the intimidating Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan.

The game between Dodan warriors who narrowly fell 64-62 last week to Union Bank will be banking on the foreign Imports Romaric Quenum (Benin Rep) and Mike Savadogo (Burkina Faso) to be guns blazing tomorrow As well as reigning MVP Azuoma Dike who is nursing a minor injury. While Customs will hope to consolidate on last weeks triumph over former champions Royal Hoopers

Slumping former back to back Champions Royal Hoopers who are languishing at the bottom of the Atlantic conference will play host the bullish Police Baton team who last week won back to back games for the first time this season. Both team are yet to find their feet this season which is evident position on the lower end of the table.

Preview Savannah Conference

Struggling giants Kada Stars will entertain the strong charging Bulls of Gombe in Kaduna. Kada who have one just one game in 5 will entertain Gombe who team led on Bauchi Nets with 40 point victory last week. Kada have won just 1 of 3 home games this season and while game is winless in 3 away fixtures.

Plateau Peaks will entertain unbeaten league champions Kano Pillars. Kano beat their closest rivals in the conference last week to record a 5-1 win loss record over Mark Mentors. The Champions are rearing to make it 6 wins from 6 this weekend. Meanwhile the Peaks last game at home ended unceremoniously to a furore from fans and cost them to be sanctioned by the league.

Mark Mentors who lost their unbeaten start to the season to bitter rivals Kano Pillars will host Immigration in Abuja. The formidable Mentors side will hope to bounce back to winning ways just like their opponents who lost last week. Mark Mentors have an excellent home record while Immigration have won 2 of their 3 away games.

Niger Potters who are still smarting on a their 1st win of the season in Kaduna will host on Bauchi Nets in Minna. The struggling Nets are on a 3 game losing streak while Potters snapped their 4 game losing streak last week.

League Table

Atlantic Conference

Pos – Team – Wins/Loss
1. Islanders 4-1
2. Oluyole W. 3-2
3. D. Warriors 3-2
4. Union Bank 3-2
5. Kwara Falcons 2-3
6. Customs 2-3
7. Police Baton 2-3
8. Royal Hoopers 1-4

Savannah Conference

Pos – Team – Wins/Loss
1. Kano Pillars 5-0
2. Mark Mentors 4-1
3. Gombe Bulls 3-2
4. Plateau Peaks 3-2
5. Immigration 2-3
6. Kada Stars 1-4
7. Niger Potters 1-4
8. Bauchi Nets 1-4

DStv Premier Basketball League, Islanders, Union Bank, Customs win the battle of the Atlantic…

DStv Premier Basketball League, Islanders, Union Bank, Customs win the battle of the Atlantic…. As Kano Pillars holds off Mark Mentors in the Savannah

Week-5 pairing of the 2013/2014 season of the DStv Premier Basketball League was decided across the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences of the league.

In one of the three games decided in Lagos over the weekend, Islanders basketball club return to the summit of the Atlantic conference with a hard fought 68-55 points’ victory over Oluyole Warriors basketball club of Ibadan.

The high profile Game-18 pairing saw both sides sharing the four quarters evenly with Islanders coming from behind twice in the first and third quarters (10-13 and 15-17) to upstage their Ibadan rival wining the second and fourth quarters by 21-10 and 22-15 points for a cumulative score-line of 68-55 points to make it a 4-1 record with an overall 316 points from five games.

Islanders’ basketball club quartet of Ibrahim Okpe; Seyi Ayodele; John Ohwe and Chiwendu Nwaigbo hit a double figure each to aid their side victory.

Coach Ayinla Johnson of Union Bank given instruction to his boys during the 2014 Nigeria DStv Premier Male Basketball League held at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium, Surulere. Union Bank won by 64-62 points.

Okpe (16 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assist); Ayodele (16 points, 2 rebound and 2 steal); Ohwe (15 points and 3 rebound) and Nwaigbo (12 points, 9 rebound and 4 assist).

Union Bank basketball club steal a last quarter rally to go past hard fighting Dodan Warriors basketball club by 64-62 points in their match-up.

The ‘Stallion’ upturned a three points’ third quarter ending deficit (46-49) to remain in fourth place on the conference log.

Union Bank with a 3-2 records was led in scoring by its Togolese import Arnold Yacoubou with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assist; Solomon Ajegbeyi landed a double double of 10 points and 12 rebounds while swingman Emeka Ajaegbu added 10 points and 3 steal.

Coach Lati Erinfolami of Lagos Islanders given instructions to his boys during the 2014 Nigeria DStv Premier Male Basketball League held at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium, Surulere. Lagos Islanders won by 68-55 points.

Nigeria Customs completed the Lagos wing of the Atlantic conference win with a 58-46 points win over two-time champion of the league Royal Hoopers basketball club of Port Harcourt.

The ‘Border Boy’ came off a 07-14 points first quarter deficit to out-play the Hoopers in the second quarter through fourth (16-11, 15-11 and 20-10).

Customs forward and Captain Victor Kadiri led his team quest for honours with a double double of 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assist and 2 block-shots with youthful combo guard Emmanuel Balogun adding 15 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steal and 2 assist just as Police Baton snatched an away win of 62-60 points over Kwara Falcons basketball club of Ilorin.

The big win by the Police Baton was a kind of boost for the Police side who began the season on a shaky note after losing its first three games before handling Customs a 55-47 points’ victory during the week-4 local derby in Lagos.

Meanwhile defending champion have continue from where it left off last season by remaining the only team in the 16-team league that have kept a clean slate as it holds off star-studded Mark Mentors basketball club of Abuja last weekend in Kano.

The Coach Sani Ahmed tutored Pillars side defeated their closest rival in the Savannah conference by 69-62 points in a pulsating match watched by capacity crowd at the gymnasium of the Sani Abacha stadium to end Mark Mentors unbeaten run.

Pillars that enjoy a 5-0 record have accumulated 418 point-scored which translate to an average of 83.6 points per-game.

The week became more interesting as Niger Potters basketball club of Minna end its winless season with a 52-47 points away win over Nigeria Immigration in Kaduna with Plateau Peaks basketball club of Jos adding to the woes of Kaduna-based teams when it humbled Kada Stars basketball club of Kaduna by 70-48 points.

DStv league new entrant Gombe Bulls basketball club continue with its superb form when it posted a massive 85-45 points victory over neighbor Bauchi Nets basketball club at the National Sports Commission (NSC) gymnasium in Gombe.

The Abdulrahman Mohammed coached Bulls are now third on the log of the Savannah conference Mark Mentors and conference leader Kano Pillars with an eye for the final-8 playoff.

Lukman Kuti in jersey No 5 of Customs going for a dunk and been block by Ikachi Ochoma in jersey No 10 of Royal Hoppers during the 2014 Nigeria DStv Premier Male Basketball League held at the Indoor Sports Hall of National Stadium, Surulere. Customs won by 58-46 points.

DSTV Pro Basketball League and Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball league get jump-ball date

OLUSEGUN IKUESAN

The Nigeria Basketball federation (NBBF) has fixed February and March as the dunk-off dates for the men and women league.

This was contained in a statement released by the Secretariat of the Nigeria federation at the end of a 4-day stakeholders forum and pre-season seminar held in Abuja.

According to NBBF president, Tijjani Umar the mens DStv league will start on February 28 in Lagos while the Zenith Bank women league retains it phases format with the first phase billed for Abuja on March 19.

The pre-season saw a total of sixty-one referees taking part in physical exercises and examination to determine their readiness ahead of the jump-ball date while, thirty-nine technical officials also wrote examinations conducted by trio of Nigerian FIBA graded referees, Babatunde Popoola, Olayinka Famogbiyele and Kingsley Ojeaburu.

The NBBF also confirmed the relegation of Comets basketball club from the Atlantic conference and Yelwa Hawks basketball club from the Savannah conference of the DStv league and promoted Kwara Falcons basketball club of Ilorin and Gombe Bulls basketball club respectively.

The Dstv league will retain its home and away format just as changes were made to the playoff format with four teams qualifying for the final-8 playoffs from each of the Atlantic and Savannah conferences of the league.

Source: http://www.fibaafrica.com