As the curtain falls on the first phase of the 2017 Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League, seeded teams First Bank, Dolphins and Nigeria Customs finished as the top-three teams.
The championship, which rounded off over the weekend, would go into a two-week break, so as to allow participating teams prepare for the second phase scheduled to dunk off from May 1 to 8 at the Sports Hall, Ramat Square, Kaduna.
All the 18 clubs in the women’s national league have been directed to arrive Kaduna on April 29, while the technical meeting is scheduled for the next day, according to a statement from secretary-general of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Balewa Austin,.
Top seeded team in group A, First Bank, came toe-to-toe with Taraba Hurricanes, Plateau Rocks, Nasarawa Amazons, AHIP Queens and 1st Deepwater, but remain unbeaten, defeating Nasarawa Amazons 89-22, Taraba Hurricanes 60-15, AHIP Queens 91-39, 1st Deep Water 71-38, Plateau Rocks 73-33 and Taraba Hurricanes 60-15.
Another Lagos-based club, Dolphins, runs the rule in group B, after getting the better of FCT Angels, Zamfara Babes, Delta Force, Coal City Queens and Sunshine Angels.
The Lagos-based club defeated FCT Angels 97 – 60, Delta Force (66-65), Sunshine Angels (63-46) and Coal City Babes (50-18), before walloping Zamfara Babes 71-27 in their final game on Monday to end the first phase with a 100 per cent record.
Also, Nigeria Customs won all their games in group C which comprises Gt 2000, Oluyole Babes, Ekiti Angels, Benue Princess and IGP Queens .The third phase is billed for Asaba while Ibadan and Lagos host the fourth and fifth phases respectively.
According to the NBBF, six teams would be relegated at the end of the second phase in Kaduna, while the remaining eight would head on to Lagos for the final.