B.U.K Picks First Semis Ticket

OOU scored the first point from the jump ball in the Quarterfinals fixture. They also got the quick vote from sidecourts analysts to win the match as they showed early signs of great determination but the quick voters were wrong as the young men from Kano fought back hard to win the game at 64-60.

The match started at a very fast pace on the court as the teams used their fast breaks opportunities but were miserly with their scores as the first quarter ended 10-5 for O.O.U. By half time the scoreboard read  21-20 also in their favour but that was the last quarter they led as the three-points shots from Ismaila Yusuf of Bayero soon began to rain.

 Those down town shots eventually had a major impact on the final result as Yusuf hit 24 points from the distance but from a whopping 8-26 from the three-point range. It was a three-point game and was also a clutch game as they tied with virtually every shot from the start of the third quarter until the scores stood at 52-52 in the last quarter with four minutes of playing time left. The winners moved the gap to a marginal 58-52 and held stead. They already had the momentum and so sailed home to victory.

 For Mark Balogun, the coach Police Bombers team, formerly of the Premier Basketball League, the three-points shot was not exactly the major problem.  "We played with just one big man but they had the luxury of four. So we matched them on the floor and board when our big man was on court and they took the advantage whenever he rested, If I had just two..."

 The BUK coach, Ahmed Tijani, in a separate post match talk  with the media thinks otherwise.  "They prepared against my big men and we are good at that so we had to find another route to victory," the coach said.  The BUK team, in any case entered the court as favourites having qualified from Group C as leaders. The the Ogun State boys joined the quarter finals as runners up to A.B.U from Group A.

 The semi final matches will hold this evening at the main Sports centre of the campus.
                           *O.O.U Coach: I lacked big men