MARGARET CHIDERA
The First Bank Female Basketball team, the Elephant Girls, have won the second edition of the Dr D. K. Olukoya Women Basketball Championship at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the team’s media officer, Pius Eromosele in Lagos.
The team’s winning streak has been consistent having won the Sam Oguche trophy. The Bankers overrun Olukoya Queens by 52-40 in the keenly contested encounter.
The Elephant girls won the championship when they defeated MFM Queens by 54-Baskets to 37-Baskets to retain Dr D. K. Olukoya Women Basketball Championship.
The week-long competition which was decided at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Surulere on Friday, also saw Marjanatu Musa of the Elephant Girls emerging the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the championship’s Best Rebounds and Best Five.
Another team mate, Ifunaya Okoro, emerged Best Shooter and Best Scorer.
“Though the matches were keenly contested, but the Elephant Girls overpowered all their opponents including Raptors Basketball team by 66-Baskets to 34.
“In the Quarter finals, they defeated Bayelsa Patriots by a whopping 77-Baskets to 12.
“Having been beaten by Elephant Girls in the finals of Sam Oguche Basketball Foundation Championship earlier in the week, the Elephant Girls knew that the encounter will be a tough challenge and so it was.
“But the well motivated First Bank super stars, backed by their teeming fans was up to the challenge and left no one in doubt of their determination to win beating once again MFM Queens by 54-Baskets to MFM Queens’’s 37-Baskets to retain trophy,” Eromosele said.
Satisfied with the outcome of the competition, the team’s Coach, Lati Erifolami, said: “The team is desperate to bring back the glory of basketball to where it was when they compete favourably with the best from the African continent.
“We are on course for greater thing. Our dream is to bring glory to our sponsor and the country and bring back our glory in as we used to dominate Basketball even in the continent,” he said.
