Basketball : Osun ready to host South West Total Energies Division 2 play-off -Babalola
By Ifeanyi Eduzor
Chairman of Osun State Basketball Association, Ope Babalola said that the state is ready to host the South West Zone of the Nigeria Basketball Federation Total Energies Division 2 playoff which dunks off Friday in Osogbo the State capital.
He told newstap.com that all necessary logistics for a hitch free play-off have been put in place and that the participating teams have started arriving.
Teams from Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Osun are expected to compete for the two available tickets for the Atlantic Conference finals scheduled to hold in Lagos.
It was gathered that Ekiti State will not be represented at the play-off while Oyo State will be presenting only one team; Hoop Dreams Academy while the host state will be putting forward two teams for the play-off.
Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman of Oyo State Basketball Association who also doubles as founder of Hoop Dreams Nigeria, Barrister Damola Awosika has assured that they are ready for the big battle in Osogbo and the flag bearer from Oyo State is eyeing one of the tickets to the Conference finals.
The South East and the South South Play-off have been concluded. Federal Polytechnic Nekede and Team Anambra are coming to the Conference from the South East.
Similarly, the North East alongside North West and North Central play offs have been decided too.
Numan Super Flames and Adamawa Lions are the touch bearers from the North East, Solid Heats of Nasarawa and Village Buzzers of Abuja are the representatives from the North Central play-off.
Coach Yakubu Usman, who coordinated the North East Play-off told our correspondent that this year’s event which took place in Yola the Adamawa State capital is the most competitive since 2017.
The widely travelled player now coach explained that Numan Super Flames and Adamawa Lions are loaded with exciting young talents that will surely light up the Savannah Conference finals and go ahead to make a name for themselves in the slam and dunk game in the near future.
In a related development, chairman of the NBBF Total Energies Division 2 League Committee, Alhaji Honourable Abba Abdulquadir Kaka says Abuja is expected to host the Savannah Conference finals while Lagos will host the Atlantic Conference finals.
The NBBF Total Energies Division 2 League and the soon to start Division 1 League are key events in the calendar of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and it’s a conveyor belt for top talented players for the Federation’s elite program the Premier League.
