13th September, 2012
Nigeria women’s league champions, First Deepwater basketball club of Lagos on Monday proved that they are still the best team in West-Africa as they finished top at the 2012 Africa Champions Cup Zone-III qualifiers held in Monrovia, Liberia.
The one-week tourney, organised to determine the two teams that would represent Zone 3 at the 2012 Africa Clubs Champions Cup that would be held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, included teams from Nigeria, Liberia, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.
The ‘Oil & Gas ladies,’ as the coach Lateef Erinfolami-tutored side are called by their fans, defeated their compatriots, First Bank club of Nigeria 54-52 points in their first match, staged a walk-over on C-Delta basketball club of Liberia in the second match and in their third match, they finished off K-Delta basketball club of Liberia by 109-24 points. The Deepwater Discovery Limited-sponsored side thus booked a place in the final round billed for Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire between 19-29 October, 2012 for the third time after only four years of their formation.
—Bamidele Olowosagba