LAGOS – The Head Coach of Dodan Warriors Basketball Club of Lagos, Chris Nomigo, says his team is in perfect form, having won three straight victories in the ongoing DStv Basketball League.
Warriors beat visiting Kwara Falcons of Ilorin, 67-46, to record a 100 per cent start and lead the Atlantic Conference table in the three weeks old season.
Nomigo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Saturday that hard work and the team’s style of play gave them edge over their opponents.
”We have a youthful side that has easily settled down to our very fast style of play which makes us almost invincible to our opponents.
”Hard work is also key to our success so far and from what we have achieved, we are confident of achieving our aim, which is to reach the continental stage at the end, ”Nomigo said.
Meanwhile, Falcons’ forward player, Lanre Alimi, told NAN that his side lost to Warriors because they could not cope with their fast pace.
”We did our best and we were looking at winning our first match in Lagos but Dodan Warriors’ style of play was not easy to contend with.
”We will surely bounce back from this defeat because it has given us an eye-opener on how some matches need to be approached,” Alimi said.
NAN reports that the match began on an end to end contest where both teams finished the first quarter 12-12.
Warriors’ efforts in their defensive and offensive tactics helped them to go ahead in the second quarter, recording 17-6 points advantage.
The third and fourth quarters of the match was also well contested but went Warriors way, recording18-15 and 20-13 points to seal the victory.
Warriors’ Umar Garba proved too hot for Falcons defences as he nailed six three points shots out of his 10 attempted throws. He led the scoring chat with 25 points.
Meanwhile in the other match played at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Union Bank of Lagos defeated visiting Oluyole Warriors of Ibadan, 59-50.
The match had ended 47-47 after the regulation time and a more determined Union Bank team had risen to the occasion to beat lackluster Oluyole in extra-time.
It was also Union Bank’s first win of the season, having lost two of their previous matches.
The Proprietor of the Union Bank team, Tunde Popoola, told NAN that the victory was well deserved, although the team was still yet to blend properly.
”It is a good result, we are happy clinching a victory and we hope to build on this victory.
“It is also important for our confidence as a team which we are gradually building,” Popoola said
In the final match of the day, former league leaders Customs of Lagos lost their first match of the season to the Police Batons, 44-57.
The Customs and Police match saw both teams recording 7-13, 18-6 and 16-20 in the three quarters of the match
Police soared in the fourth quarter, recording 16-4 over Customs to win their first match in the ongoing campaign.
Coach Scot Nnaji of Customs said that his team fell apart in the third quarter, having lost the team’s playmaker, Andrew Austin to injury in the third quarter of the match.
”It was a tough game and we were doing well until Austin’s head injury in the third quarter which made other players remorseful and worried.
”So the loss of concentration in the game had caused us to lose,” Nnaji said.
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His opposite number Coach Mark Balogun of the Police Batons team said that the win over Customs was vital for the team, having suffered two straight defeats in the season.
”We played well and deserved to carry the day, we would work hard at building on this momentum being our first victory of the season,” Balogun said. (NAN)
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