Pillars, Union Bank Clash In FIBA-Africa Qualifiers Final

By Wale  Joseph

Kano Pillars Basketball Club and Union Bank Basketball Club will, this evening, at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, clash in an all Nigerian final of the FIBA-Africa Champions Cup Zone-3 Qualifiers, in what basketball fans have tagged: Brothers At War.

The two sides will lock horns for the second time in less than a month, after they grappled in the final of the Nigeria Premier League Final-8, in Kano. Pillars won the game with a two-point difference.

Of the two Nigerian sides, Pillars were the favourites in the qualifiers, given their outstanding performance at the group stage and the semi-finals, where they defeated Swallows Basketball Club of Togo 71-47 points. Their counterparts, Union Bank, stopped ASPAC Basketball Club of Benin Republic, 82-71 points, in yesterday’s semi-final.

Coach of Kano Pillars, Sani Adamu, and his Union Bank counterpart, Ayinla Johnson, are talking tough ahead of the match. Coach Adamu said he had already predicted a Kano Pillars versus Union Bank final, adding that he was not surprised to see the two teams qualify for the final.

For Ayinla Johnson, having come this far, the most important thing is to work harder to win the trophy. “It has been a tough tournament, but thank goodness we are in the finals and I believe we are here to win the trophy.”