Officials of Dodan Warriors Basketball Club of Lagos have promised that the team will give all its best to ensure success when the 2013/2014 DStv Premier Basketball League (PBL) Final Eight Playoff dunks off today.
“It is going to be tough, but we are equal to the task. We’ve prepared so hard for this playoff and we are going to give it the best when it commences.
“We are not going to underrate any team because all the teams that qualified are potentials champions; but we will ensure that we do our best to emerge champions at the end of the playoffs,” said Secretary of the Club, Joe Apu.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), organiser of the event, has released the grouping for the playoff.
All the eight teams that qualified from the Atlantic and Savannah conferences of the league have been divided into two groups of four teams each.
The NBBF League and Technical Committee gave some privileges to each conference winner – Lagos Islanders (Atlantic) and Kano Pillars (Savannah) – by retaining the fourth placed teams from each conference in same group as the conference winners.
As defending champion, Kano Pillars, was also granted the franchise of being seeded in the Group A, while Lagos Islanders, winner of the Atlantic conference, was seeded in Group B.
Other teams to join Kano Pillars in Group A are the second and third placed sides from the Atlantic conference – Union Bank Basketball Club of Lagos who finished overall runner-up last season and Dodan Warriors Basketball Club also of Lagos – while fourth placed qualifier from the Savannah conference, Plateau Peaks of Jos, completes the roster.
And to join Lagos Islanders in Pool-B are Savannah Conference second and third teams, Mark Mentors of Abuja and Gombe Bulls of Gombe, while fourth placed side from the Atlantic Conference, Oluyole Warriors Basketball Club of Ibadan, makes up the group.
The first jump-ball has been fixed for today (July 13) at the Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The competition is organised by the NBBF in conjunction with the sponsors, Multichoice Nigeria.