The 17TH Edition of the Nestle Milo Secondary School Basketball National finals Championship, took centre stage at the Indoor Sport Hall of National Stadium Surulere, Lagos State on Tuesday with some exciting games taking place in the opening day of the competition.
The opening game saw Niger State representatives in girls’ category, Government Girls Secondary School Bida, Niger State overpower Government Girls Secondary School Numan Adamawa State by 26 points to 16.
It was a balanced game until the last quarters where girls from Niger State made some series of baskets after an impressive fourth quarter to finally put the game beyond the girls from Adamawa.
In the second game in the girls’ category, Idia College, Benin-City Edo State came from behind in the last quarter to beat champion of Western Conference, Yejide Grammar School of Ibadan, Oyo State by 19-17.
Speaking after the match, Philip Ojo, Head Coach of Idia College said that their style of play gave them the edge over our opponents.
According to him, “We have a strong team that easily settled down to our very fast style of play which makes us almost invincible to our opponents, hard work is also key to our success. So far we are confident of achieving our aim, which is to emerge winner at the end of the championship.”
Meanwhile, Yejide girls forward Busayo Matthew speaking after the match said, her side lost to Edo because they could not cope with fast pace but boasted that they will surely bounce back from the defeat because it was an eye-opener.
In the boys category, St. Peter College Idah, Kogi State picked a valuable 45-43 points victory over Government Secondary School Barnawa, Kaduna State, while boys from Ilupeju Grammar School defeated St. Josephs College Nyimah, Benue state by 32-25 points.
