Kwara Falcons male basketball club of Ilorin on Saturday whitewashed Nigeria Customs 78-53 to emerge champions of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Final Eight Championship.
Kwara Falcons took an early lead in the first quarter, leading 27-14 to prove their qualities and their desire to achieve a good result in the end.
In the second quarter, they maintained the momentum for a 40-30 lead going into the longer break, clearly dominating game proceedings to the delight of their teeming fans.
By the end of the third quarter, they had put the game beyond the reach of Customs by leading 59-45.
In the final quarter, Customs looked depleted and could not contend with their opponents’ surge.
By now, the final match looked too easy for the Falcons who coasted to a famous victory.
The Falcons’ Head Coach, Jibriil Baba the victory has been long in coming and he was delighted with the win.
“We worked hard for this, having lost to Customs during the competition. So, we just went into it after doing our homework on how to approach the final match.
“It’s been over 20 years since we have been in the league and not able to achieve anything. Indeed, this is a testament to our hard work over the years,” Baba said.
Similarly, Samuel Dada of Kwara Falcons who won the match’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award said the team had prepared very well for the competition.
“This is a very good result for us. Indeed it feels good to be champions at the end of the Final Eight competition.
“We look forward to the intercontinental championship, which we have qualified for by virtue of this win and comes up next year, and we hope we go there with good team spirit,” Dada said.
With the victory, Falcons earned N1 million as cash prize and a chance to play in the 2022 Basketball African League (BAL).
The NBBF Final Eight Championship was held at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos with eight teams competing.
