Union Bank beats Ebun Comets

Lagos: Sunday, April 30, 2006: The excitement around the on-going Vmobile Basketball Premier reached a crescendo last Saturday as the League?s reigning champion; Union Bank showed fans in the Atlantic Conference that their status as champions is not a fluke, when they beat hard-fighting Ebun Comets by 85 -81points at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere.

In an exciting and tension-soaked game in which Union Bank?s Edem Ekpeyong scored 21 of his team?s total scores, the Stallion Boys opened scores in the first quarter through Shola Alayande, who set the pace by sinking a couple of 3 point shots.

Ebun Comets, who had the edge on rebounds responded through Rasheed Bello, but the one-on-one defense strategy utilized by Union Bank in the first quarter ensured Union Bank finished the quarter with the advantage 2 - 16.

In the second quarter, Comets substituted Oseer Ikyaator, who had an overall poor game with 3 points and 2 rebounds for Mike Ohiero. With three minutes, fifty seconds to go, Comets closed the gap to just five points at 37 ? 32, but Union Bank took the quarter at 48 - 41 points.

Few minutes into the third quarter, Comet?s Dennis Ebikoro, who had 7 rebounds and 12 points tied the game at 58 ? 58. But Union Bank still maintained the lead by 63 ? 62 points at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter turned out to be an aggressive and exciting battle for supremacy with both teams going for each other?s jugular. Comets tied the game again during the quarter at 63-63, 74-74, but Union Bank utilized its advantage of having more players capable of shooting from outside to sink 3 point shots.

Although the Stallion Boys forced Ebun Comets players to commit fouls, they failed to widen the gap, as they could not find the magic of scoring 3 point shot which gave them the lead in the first two quarters. The Comet?s offense switched periodically from Mike Ohiero, to Oseer Ikyaator to Dennis Ebikoro, a strategy which forced Union Bank to abandon their one-on-one defense for zonal defense.

Union Bank?s Edem Ekpeyong and Shola Alanyande, however, wrapped up the game with a series of lay-ups, which kept final scores at 85 - 81 in favour of Union Bank.