FIBA Basketball
NGR - Lagos girls maintain lead
<FONT class=txt face="">ABEOKUTA (National Sports Festival) - The age long rivalry between Lagos and Delta States female basketball team at the sports festival was rekindled Saturday evening when both side clashed in a group-B top of the billing pairing</FONT>
ABEOKUTA (National Sports Festival) - The age long rivalry between Lagos and Delta States female basketball team at the sports festival was rekindled Saturday evening when both side clashed in a group-B top of the billing pairing.
The encounter dubbed 'final before the final' was watched by capacity crowd who cheer the teams all the way, with the Delta girls coached by former international forward, Lateef Erinfolami looking good to carry the day but had themselve to blame at the end of hostility.
The girls from oil rich Delta State were leading their Lagos counterpart 44-40 points with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter but could not sustain the tempo due to complacency resulting from frequent turn-overs while the Adewumi Aderemi coached Lagos girls were calm and focus capitalising on the numerous mistakes of the Asaba-based Delta team to win the encounter 51-48 points.
With the win recorded by the Lagos State female team it is yet to be seen if they will be able to carry on to the final April 16 and reclaim the festival gold medal it lost to Delta State two years ago during the 14th National Sports Festival in Abuja.
Lagos had beaten Delta to the festival gold medal in the 2000 and 2002 national sports festival held in Bauchi and Edo States respectively but lost the thrid attempt in Abuja in 2004.
By Olusegun Ikuesan
FIBA correspondent in Nigeria
The encounter dubbed 'final before the final' was watched by capacity crowd who cheer the teams all the way, with the Delta girls coached by former international forward, Lateef Erinfolami looking good to carry the day but had themselve to blame at the end of hostility.
The girls from oil rich Delta State were leading their Lagos counterpart 44-40 points with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter but could not sustain the tempo due to complacency resulting from frequent turn-overs while the Adewumi Aderemi coached Lagos girls were calm and focus capitalising on the numerous mistakes of the Asaba-based Delta team to win the encounter 51-48 points.
With the win recorded by the Lagos State female team it is yet to be seen if they will be able to carry on to the final April 16 and reclaim the festival gold medal it lost to Delta State two years ago during the 14th National Sports Festival in Abuja.
Lagos had beaten Delta to the festival gold medal in the 2000 and 2002 national sports festival held in Bauchi and Edo States respectively but lost the thrid attempt in Abuja in 2004.
By Olusegun Ikuesan
FIBA correspondent in Nigeria