First Bank Basketball Club of Lagos and city rivals Dolphins Basketball Club will clash on Sunday at the Indoor sports hall of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in a crunch tie expected to excite spectators in the Atlantic Conference of preliminaries for the Zenith Bank National Women Basketball League.
Both teams are potential qualifiers for the top tier Zenith Basketball League but there will be bragging rights issues in this fixture.
The Sunday encounter will be very hot as these two teams are expected to be among the best eight among the 16 teams on parade.
Meanwhile, Coach Victor Umoru, Head Coach of the Edo State Basketball Association, has promised that a pleasant surprise awaits the 15 other teams competing in the pre-qualification stage of the Atlantic Conference of the Nigeria Women’s Basketball League, holding in Benin City between Thursday, June 1st and Sunday, June 11th, as his wards, the Bini Queens, are set to emerge the best not minding that they have been off the tournament for 17 years.
Umoru, who is also a member of the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, said: “It is a great privilege for us that the Edo State Government is in support of us hosting this tournament because it is the first time that the state is hosting it.
“The Bini Queens have not played in this Championship in this last 17 years. Our sincere thanks goes to the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki and the Deputy Governor, Comrade Philip Shaibu especially for making the infrastructure for this tournament available and the support that they have given to us to be part of this tournament.
“It tells the entire continent that Edo State is the Mecca of sports in Africa. 17 years down the line is a long time. You can imagine how many generations of our female athletes have not had the opportunity to play in this tournament.”
Abisoye Ifeoluwa, a player of the Bini Queens corroborated her coach’s submission that the team is fully prepared for the tournament.
“We are prepared for the tournament. The people of Edo State should expect the very best from us,” the Combo guard stressed.
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