Niger
Potters of Minna competing in the Savannah Conference of the 2015 Men's
National division one Basketball League and hosts Royal Hoopers of Port
Harcourt from the Atlantic conference are on the verge of booking the two
available slots for qualification to the DSTV Basketball League.
After
Day Four hostilities, both teams are yet to lose and are in good stead to
qualify for the top flight league next season. Both teams will be
staging a return after dropping from the elite league seasons ago.
Minna
based Potters who look set for a return after three wins and
maintaining unbeaten run began their quest on a good note on Sunday by
beating AHIP Giants 79-67 points, Zamfara Shooters 95-72 and
Tuesday morning humbled close rivals Abuja based Civil Defenders 69-58
to brighten their chances of return to the top flight league.
Against
the Defenders who needed to win to have a chance of staying in
contention after their shock 81-90 defeat to AHIP Giants of Kano,
Potters' Steve scored 27 points while fellow teammate Omokudu
contributed 16 points to ensure victory for the Niger State team.
In
the first quarter both Potters and Defenders scored 14 points each
while Potters won the second and third quarters 14-11 and 21-12 points
respectively but Defenders picked the last quarter 21-20 however not
enough to give them the needed victory.
Niger
Potters coach Ishaq Yayaha speaking after the game which may have given
him the edge over Defenders and AHIP Giants, said all he is telling the
boys is that they need to concentrate and sustain the tempo because it
is not over yet.
"We still have obstacles in Benue Braves, Yobe Desert
Warriors and Apa Flames to cross, so all we need to do right now is to
sustain our focus and not let the wins get into our heads because we are
not there yet. We still have these obstacles to cross before we
celebrate that we are through to the DSTV League. So, we have to take
the games as they come."
Royal
Hoopers on the other hand have continued to dominate the Atlantic
Conference with their 115-43 points win over Osun Lions, 72-43 points
win over Raptors of Lagos and 67-45 points win over Police Bombers. But
will have an obstacle to cross on Thursday when they go against Comets
of Lagos who are also unbeaten so far.
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