MFM basketball club emerged champions of the 2023 Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League following a hard-fought overtime win against Nigeria Customs.
MFM defeated Nigeria Customs Women’s Basketball Club 64-60 points in overtime for their first title on Thursday.
In a tense match that ended in overtime, MFM at one point threw away a 12-point lead to end 58-58 points in regulation time.
It will be recalled that MFM were finalists in 2019 but they were pipped to the title by Air Warriors.
Meanwhile, the sponsor of the Women’s Premier Basketball League, Zenith Bank has agreed to add the National Division One to the league they will be sponsoring in the country beginning from 2024.
President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) Engineer Musa Kida disclosed this during the halftime of the match between Nigerian Customs and MFM.
Kida expressed his appreciation to Zenith Bank for accepting to sponsor the Division One league.
He said “It is with great pleasure for me to announce that Zenith Bank Plc has decided to bankroll the Division 1 league for women in Nigeria.
“It is a way of further going to the grassroots to get players for the elite division. It’s a welcome development for the growth of women’s basketball in Nigeria.”
The Executive Director of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Temitope Fasoranti said adding the Division 1 league to the elite division the financial institution is already sponsoring is in line with their corporate values.
“We have continued to invest in youth development, invest in women, invest in sports because all these drive the spirit of entrepreneurship in our youths, our women and sports generally,” he said.
The quartet of Nigeria Customs, MFM, Air Warriors and debutants Bayelsa Whales were the four teams that qualified for the finals from the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences.
