Kano Pillars Basketball Club on Saturday clinched the Kwese Sports Premier Basketball League title after defeating Gombe Bulls 74-54 to retain the title.
The match, which was played at the Indoor sports hall of the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano, was watched by a large number of basketball enthusiasts.
In a towering display of skill and experience, the home team played an outstanding game in front hundreds of home fans, with veteran player Abubakar Usman amassing 24 points.
At the end of the game, individual honours went to Abubakar Usman of Kano Pillars who was named the highest goal scorer, and the Most Valuable Player while the highest rebound award went to Celestine Nwafor of Pillars.
Timothy Kwaor of Gombe Bulls also won the award for the player with the highest three points shots.
Speaking after the action-packed games, Nigeria Basketball Federation President, Tijani Umar, expressed delight over the high standard of play exhibited during the finals.
“We are very happy with the dedication and commitment of the players, coaches and administrators of the game during this league season,” he said.
Coach Samson John of Gombe Bulls said he accepted the defeat “honourably” and commended his players for their efforts.
“Pillars have been at this stage many times before and so they understood how to handle every situation,” he said.
Pillars coach Sani Ahmed hailed his players for their show of determination through the season.
Ahmed who commended his players for their outstanding performance and their fighting spirit said “it was still an interesting match because the two sides put up a good fight,” he said.
The win also fetched Pillars whopping N20 million prize money from Kwese Sports, while Bulls received N15 million.
Before the final match, Hoops and Read had beaten Kwara Falcons 61-52 in the third place match to take N10 million prize money.
The win is Kano Pillars’ seventh.
