LAGOS – FCT Angels of Abuja on Monday defeated IGP Queens of Lagos 68-64 in their final group match in the ongoing Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball Championship Playoffs in Lagos.
The victory ensured the qualification of the Abuja team for the semi-finals of the playoffs.
Angels won two of the three matches they played in the group A in the preliminaries of the of the playoffs.
The Coach of Angels, Sunday Assah, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the match that his team had performed well to earn a semi-finals spot.
“We played well to earn our spot in the semi-finals stage; it is our first semi-final in our two years experience of playing in the playoffs.
“We are happy and very proud of our achievements in this year’s campaign, so, we look forward for the semi-final match.
“The players are more confident and ready for the next stage of the competition,’’ Assah said.
Theresa Mac-Dangusu, Angel’s Assistant Captain, told NAN that they had worked hard to beat IGP Queens.
She said the team was full of hope to meet their opponents in the semi-finals.
“We are exited about our win, we will be playing with more fire as we go into the next stage, because right now we fear nobody,’’ Mac-Dangusu said.
NAN reports that IGP Queens had the game in their hands leading in all the four quarters of the game but lost their composure toward the end in the regulation time.
IGP Queens recorded 19-10, 32-26 and 46-42 scorelines in the three quarters but allowed Angels to tie the match at 62-62 few seconds before regulation time.
FCT Angel’s player, Ebere Okeke led her team to victory by scoring a total of 24 points.
The Police team coach, Abraham Ogaba said that girls lost the match due to inexperience.
“We were careless in the dying seconds of the match; my players became wasteful with the ball and were not as determined as they were when they were leading.
“They made many mistakes and allowed FCT Angels get back into the game and snatched the victory from their hands.
“However, we are still a young team and we will continue to build and gather the necessary experience we need to thrive in the competition,’’ Ogaba said.
FCT Angels came second behind First Bank of Lagos who had recorded two straight games and ahead on points in the group stage.
FCT Angels lost their first group match to First Bank.
The Angels await the winner between First Deepwater of Lagos and Dolphins Club of Lagos in the last group A match to know their semi-finals pairing. (NAN)