Nigeria’s representatives at the ongoing FIBA Africa Champions Cup, Kano Pillars and Gombe Bulls will depart Tunisia for Nigeria on Wednesday.
The long wait for a Continental trophy continues as Pillars could only manage a 9th place finish while Gombe Bulls finished 11th after beating Congolese teams ASB Mazembe and New Generation respectively in the classification game on Tuesday.
Azuoma Dike scored 27 points to lead Pillars past the Congolese in a game the Nigerian champions lost all three quarters (20-24, 21-22, 15-18) but rallied back in the final quarter (26-17). Despite outscoring their opponents, the Nigerian champions were down by one point (80-81) with 4 seconds left on the clock. Abdul Yahaya’s two free throws made snatched the victory for Pillars.
Yahaya scored 16 points, 5/6 from the line while American Jimmy Williams added 10 points.
Meanwhile, Ibe Agu scored 19 points, Godwin David contributed 17 points, while Kator Gar and John Iduh both scored 11 and 10 points respectively as Gombe Bulls beat New Generation 81-63 points for 11th place.
Association Sportive Sale of Morocco will square off against host Etoile Sportive Rades on Wednesday. It’s the first time AS Sportive will be playing the FIBA Africa Champions Cup Final following their 97-86 win over Angola champions Libolo.
In the third place game, Tunisia’s Union Sportive Monastir will slug it out with 2014 champions Libolo.
