14th November, 2017
Kano Pillars Basketball Club on Tuesday in Lagos beat Civil Defenders of Abuja 92-91 in a thrilling encounter at the ongoing FIBA Africa Zone 3 Men’s Club Championship.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the competition holding at the National Stadium began on Saturday with six clubs.
The clubs are vying for the two available tickets to the African Club Championship slated for Angola later in the year.
Zone 3 giants Kano Pillars were pushed to the limits and needed the game’s last seconds to record their win and hold on to their unbeaten run in the competition.
Their Head Coach, Ahmed Sani, later told NAN they were lucky to get a win.
“We played against a team determined to match their skills with Pillars, because they know that we are the team to beat.
“We also had some problems with communication among ourselves. But, fortunately, it did not cause us to fall.
“However, we have to address the situation and hopefully bounce back stronger in the next games ahead,” Sani said.
His opposite number, Temitope Owolosule, told NAN that it was a painful experience playing with.just six men against a tough rated team that has its full squad.
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“We lost in spite of having worked hard for the victory. It is very painful.
“But we have to look beyond that now and try and record a win in our next game which will determine how far we will go,’’ he said.
In the match, Kano Pillars’ power forward Abdul Yahaya recorded 31 points for defensive and offensive rebounds.
NAN reports that Pillars’ victory places them comfortably on top of the log, having won two games out of two.
Defenders are yet record a victory in the two games they have played.