BY JOE APU
Head coach of First Bank Elephant Girls, Peter Ahmedu on Saturday night blamed his team’s laboured win over A’Politecnica to his players and the fact that he could not get them into closed camp before the championship began.
The Elephant Girls beat their Mozambican opponent 65-59 in the opening game, but had to wait till the third quarter to fashion out a way of winning the tough encounter.
Ahmedu noted that there are no small teams in the competition, adding that the tough nature of the game against the Mozambique is an indication of what to expect at the championship.
“It was a very difficult game, but I think my girls took the game for granted. I will also say that if we had a closed camp before the tournament, it would have been easier to monitor and guide the players so that they can be in top shape always. “
Ahmedu admitted that the game against A’Politecnica was difficult because he had no scouting report on them, which made it difficult to determine their style of play. He, however, assured that his team would improve as the competition progresses.
The First Bank gaffer also reiterated his team’s desire to go home with a medal at the end of the championship. “I have always said that we are here to win a medal and that position has not changed.
“Our first target is to qualify for the quarter final, make our way to the semi final where we also hope to get a good result,” he added.
On his team’s chances against the top two teams- Agosto and Inter Clube, Ahmedu said, “We hope that will do better against them than we did last year. It is good preparation that makes you a great team. They have dominated for sometimes now because their teams are well set up and i hope we can also take a cue from this.”