29th November, 2010
Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, has charged the two country’s representatives, Kano Pillars Basketball Club and Royal Hoopers Basketball Club to double their efforts in their final preparations towards the continent’s biggest club championship.
With less than three weeks to the first jump-ball of the final round of the 2010 FIBA-Africa Champions Club for men holding in Benin Republic, the federation advised the clubs not to leave any stone unturned towards presenting teams that will make the country proud.
Pillars and Hoopers won the tickets play in the final round of the Champions Cup after finishing first and second in the FIBA-Africa Zone-3 qualifying round held in Monrovia, Liberia a few weeks back.
The two Nigeria’s DSTV Premier League Champion and runners-up are in the race for the continent flagship club championship with Pillars going in as the continent fifth best team, while Royal Hoopers is a debutante.
Royal Hoopers Basketball club who started two weeks close camping in Kaduna State last week are determined and working hard to present a team that make their state and country proud in its first continental outing in the final round of the Africa Champions Cup after finishing second in the Zone-3 Elimination.
Team Manager of the less than three years old club, Ifie Ozaka, told Basketball Timeout that the club is determined to continue its good performance after qualifying from the FIBA-Africa Zone-3 alongside counterpart, Pillars in Liberia.
Ozaka said he is optimistic that the club will make Rivers State, Nigeria and FIBA-Africa Zone-3 proud in the Benin Republic show-down, which has Despotivo de Agosto as the defending champion.
“We are going to Benin Republic with the aim of being counted among the top contenders for the trophy. Our experience from the FIBA-Africa Zone-3 qualifiers has enriched us to a large extent and we are determined to take our rightful place in Africa basketball,†he stated.
Meanwhile, the head coach of Pillars, Sani Ahmed, said the team is targeting a good finishing in this year’s final round after finishing fifth in its last two outings in 2008 (Tunisia) and 2009 (Rwanda).
“Our goal is to perform better than before. The players are aware of this enormous task, So they have a responsibility to carry out the technical bench’s instruction to achieve that,†said Ahmed, who is a member of the senior National Team Technical crew.
Ahmed said they are back to training after the Sallah break  and everybody in the team is working hard, because we all know what is at stake when hostility begins next month.