Team Captain Nkem Akaraiwe provided nearly all the ammunition to power Nigeria Customs to a 30 point blowout victory 83-53 over Kenya’s Equity Bank in the Africa Women’s Basketball League in Egypt.
The Abdulrahman Mohammed-coached side ended the 10-team competition with a 4-3 win-loss to finish 5th in the overall standings.
The tactician was happy that his charges executed despite missing three of their key players Olaoluwatomi Taiwo, Maranne Johnson as well as Isabel Gonzalez.
“The three had emergencies that forced them to travel… the rest were able to carry the load. We got everything right and remained consistent throughout the four quarters.
“Our box out and transition defense were excellent and we had players stepping up to give the captain help offensively. They left everything on the court and it was near perfect,” Abdulrahman explained.
In the absence of the trio, team leader Akaraiwe was on hand to record a game high 27 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists to earn the Border Girls as Customs are known the victory over their Kenyan opponents on the final day of the competition.
Customs are making a return to the newly revamped tournament in over two decades.
Elsewhere in a battle for bronze, 5-time champions Inter Clube smashed REG of Rwanda 83-68 to claim the medal, a first for the Angolan team after winning silver in 2019.
Hosts and reigning champions Sporting Alexandria and KPA of Kenya will draw curtain close on the competition with a potentially explosive final game matchup
