Hoops N’ Read basketball club on Sunday punched their ticket into the final of the Nigeria Basketball Federation Men’s Premier League during a nail-biting semifinal win over Spartans Basketball club of Nile University, Sports247 reports.
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It was a semifinal with twists and turns as the two sides fought fiercely for the ticket to the final that determines Nigeria’s future in basketball on the continental scene with only one club making it to the Basketball Africa League, (BAL).
Hoops N’ Read, the Lagos State Basketball warlords, piled the pressure on Spartans BC right from the first quarter with Nile University slamming and dunking wizzards struggling to put their acts together, dropping the first quarter, 19-17.
Spartans BC Head Coach, Stanley Gumut, pulled his side together into a force that Hoops N’ Read could barely contain as they kept gifting balls, coupled with a fragile defense that brought the scores to 32-33 at HT.
The half-time scores didn’t go down well with Hoops N’ Read Head Coach, Victor Mensah, who spoke to his team in the language they understood, rekindling the squad’s desire for victory.
The revitalizing speech by Coach Mensah, boosted the morale of the squad as they gracefully walked onto the court with renewed zeal, and gave Spartans BC a taste of their own spell opening up a 5 points gap, making it 48-43 at the end of the 3rd quarter.
The final quarter was the fatal blow to Nile University’s dream of making it to BAL with outstanding Suleiman Azeez as stealthy as a cat was the deadly sharp shooter on sensational rampage.
‘Killer’ mask man Bolaji Emilagba also joined in the fun in the last quarter, scoring successive three-pointers to end the day at 67-58 points.
Hoops N’ Read will now face Rivers Hoopers, hosts and defending champions in the final.
The five-time NBBF Men’s Premier League kings, escaped with the hair of their skin in the controversial semifinals match against Gboko City Chiefs, riddled with series of delays as angered Gboko City Chiefs fans invaded the stadium protesting against the poor officiating.
After restoring calm to the stadium with the help of fully armed security officials, Rivers Hoopers went on to win 79-73, marking their entry into the last lap of the League.
