The ongoing Crown elite Basketball championships in Lagos, on Thursday, cruised into the semi-finals as Lagos Islanders square up against Rivers Hooper’s Basketball Club at the Indoor Sports of the National Stadium.
Islanders lost their final game to Comets 41-53, but had recorded two victories against Unilag, 60-55 and Kwara Falcons 52-48, and are upbeat about their chances against Hooper’s in the semis.
Oluseyi Ayodele, Islanders’ Head Coach, described the opportunity as a blessed one, a very important aspect of sustaining a basketball team.
He said that although the challenges were herculean, due to the absence of competitions, it was very difficult to keep a team together.
“Opportunities like the ongoing championship is a blessed one, we are thankful to the organisers for dipping their hands into their pockets and running a competition,” he said.
In the other semi-final contest, dominant University of Lagos team will play Lagos Legend for a place in the finals.
Unilag had earlier beaten Kwara Falcons, 72-65, crushed Comets 63-36 to book a place in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals hold on Friday starting by 12.pm, while the finals comes up on Feb 5 at the same venue.
The prize money of N1.5 million awaits the eventual champions, while the second and third placed teams would cart home N1 million and ₦500,000 respectively.(NAN)