We beat Kano Pillars to their game, boasts Mark Mentors’ coach

Mark Mentors Coach, Peter Ahmedu, whose team defeated Kano Pillars to win the DSTV Basketball League Super Eight Championship at the weekend has revealed that his team studied the defending champions carefully before entering the pitch on Friday.

Kano Pillars have held a near stranglehold on the league championship, but they lost their title to Mark Mentors, who beat them 79 to 66 in a classic encounter witnessed by followers of the game from across the country.

The game was touted as the game of the decade following the steady rise of the new champions in the African scene and the teams did not disappoint the fans in the stadium.

Speaking on his team’s win, Ahmedu revealed, “before they started the game, I studied Pillars and realised they built their team around just three players. I told my players to ensure they didn’t give the three players enough chance to operate.

“Once they went into the game, my boys acted on this and also ensured Pillars didn’t close in on points throughout the duration of the game,’’ he said.

But Pillars’ coach, Sani Ahmed, had a contrary view of the cause of his team’s defeat.

According to Ahmed, Kano Pillars lost because his players did not have enough time to warm up.

“My boys lost concentration because of the wrong timing of the game. They did not have enough time to put themselves together before the game. I was not at any point disappointed in the team… the players tried their best,” he said.

The final encounter, which was an all Savannah Conference affair, was full of fun and excitement, with Mark Mentors giving Pillars a torrid time from the beginning of the encounter.

They took a commanding lead in the early minutes of the game, raking up a 19-0 point margin.