Hosts Mark Mentors basketball club on Friday in Abuja defeated visiting Niger Potters of Minna 81-63 in the ongoing 2016 DStv Men’s Premier Basketball League.
The visiting Niger Potters took the lead by winning the first quarter 20-17 to put Mark Mentors under pressure.
But the league defending champions fought back to snatch the lead from their guests by winning the second quarter to lead 35-26 by the game’s half-time break.
The home team made it more difficult for the visiting side to score points as they pressed on to lead 54-43 by the end of the third quarter.
At the end of the match, coach Adeka Dauda of Mark Mentors said he was happy with his team’s performance.
“We played against a very youthful team. They are very active. In the first quarter we played a very slow game, just to understand their tactics.
“Also, we have a new set of players that we are trying to build. But it was a good game. We are now going to work on our deficiency, because every game has its own peculiarity.
“For our next match, we are going away. We are playing against Kano Pillars and Plateau Peaks. So, we also hope to do better in that match,’’ Dauda said.
Coach Ishaq Yahaya of Niger Potters said his players did well but only faced more experienced opponents.
“Mark Mentors have a strong team of players, compared to my players. This is a young team we are building up, and I was really impressed with the score in the first quarter.
“But we will now go back home and work more on the team. We will work hard to ensure a win in our next game with Plateau Peaks,’’ he said.(NAN)