Gombe Bulls basketball team on Sunday in Abuja beat Kano Pillars 67-62 to finish third at the Elite Eight finals of Mark ‘D’ Ball Men’s Basketball Championship.
It was gathered that the third-place match was a very hard-fought encounter between two teams who were former NBBF premier league champions.
In the match played at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Gombe Bulls were clearly the better side from the first quarter to the fourth quarter.
Gombe Bulls won the first quarter 17-16, and they kept the lead with a four-point difference in the second quarter for a 39-35 scoreline.
Kano Pillars did fight back, but failed and Gombe Bulls went on with their lead without relenting in the third quarter which they won 50-45.
Eli Abraham had the highest points of 14 for Kano Pillars, followed by both Abolaji Emilagba with 11 points and Chinedu Chimbou who had nine points.
Kanyinsola Odufuwa had the highest points of 25 for Gombe Bulls, followed by Wisdom Anyaoha with 17 points and Michael Okiki with eight points.
Revealed that Gombe Bulls and Kano pillars were in Group B of the final elite eight stage of the competition, and their first encountered was on day two of the event on Thursday.
Then, Gombe Bulls beat Kano Pillars 80-75 to top the group with six points after winning all three games, while Kano Pillars had four points to finish as runners-up after winning one and losing two games.
Speaking after the match, the coach of Gombe Bulls, Samson John, said: “I appreciate my players. We all worked together to achieve this third-place finishing, rather than going back with nothing.
“I also appreciate our Gombe state government for their support. On behalf of the team, we say ‘thank you’,” he said.
On his part, John Idu, the captain of Gombe Bulls, said that his team did not really plan on finishing in third-place at the tournament rather than the first position.
“When the table turned around and there was no choice for us, we had to go for what we can get. But we thank God for the games played .
“But our goal right from the onset of this championship was to make it to the final. I am happy we were able to achieve something from the tournament,” he said.
The championship which resumed with the “Elite Eight” stage on Wednesday saw eight teams divided into two groups, with the two best teams from each group.
They are Mo’ Heat of Abuja, Gombe Bulls, Hot Coal Ballers of Abuja, Kwara Falcons of Ilorin, Delta Force of Asaba, Kano Pillars, FCT HardRockers and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The competition which started on Wednesday ended on Sunday.(NAN)