Mark Mentors target 2017 Premiership League play-offs stage

The Head Coach of Mark Mentors basketball club, Adeka Daudu, says the team will ensure it gets to the play-offs stage of the 2017 Men’s Basketball Premiership League.

Daodu said in an interview yesterday in Abuja that the team had been preparing rigorously for some time now.

He said this was in order for it to do better in the 2017 season than it did in 2016.

“Last year we didn’t get to the league’s Final Eight stage, but this year we are set to get to the play-offs. We have been preparing. We opened our camp sometime in February and I think we have been working very hard to get better and have a nice team.

“It is not going to be easy. All the clubs that are now in the league are very good. Everything you hear is about very good teams. The stakes are high for every team.

“We are also working very hard to make sure that when the league commences, we will be able to achieve some goals that we have set out for ourselves,” the coach said.

On the club’s expectations from the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Daudu said improved logistics would now be more essential.

“We heard about the plan to renovate the courts for the upcoming league, and we will be glad to see that this is being done across the zones.

“Also, NBBF promised to credit our account before the jump ball, we will be glad to see that being done. It will make the competition more interesting,” he said.

The club’s captain, Stanley Gumut, while assuring of the team’s readiness, pointed out that the clubs needed some funding.

“Like every other basketball club, we will like to see more money being made available for the participating teams in the league.

“Our preparation is in top gear, and we are getting ready for the jump- ball,” he said.

Mark Mentors won the 2015 DStv Men’s Premier Basketball League but could not qualify for the play-offs stage in 2016. (NAN)