SPORT Final 8: Upsets in Kano as Pillars, Falcons lose

Two big upsets were recorded yesterday in the ongoing 2017 Kwese Premier Basketball Final 8 as defending champions and Atlantic Conference 6 play-offs champions, Kano Pillars and Kwara Falcons of Ilorin both lost their second games.

Kwara Falcons fell to Hoops and Read 84-79 points while Gombe Bulls shocked arch rivals Kano Pillars 83-80.

Gombe Bulls and Kano Pillars have met six times this season and both teams have recorded three wins apiece.

Kano Pillars led Gombe in two quarters but was unable to sustain the tempo. In the first quarter, Pillars won 2113, second quarter 43-35, third quarter 56-56 and lost the fourth quarter 80-83.

Despite Pillars’ Abubakar Usman’s 33 points score, it could not help his team beat their foes. Gombe’s Kator Gar scored 21 points and was assisted by Chibuzor Njoku’s 17 points and Timothy Kwaor’s 13 points to silence Pillars in front of their home crowd.

Pillars’ coach Sani Ahmed blamed his boys for the defeat claiming that they did not play to instructions. “It is a painful defeat in front of our fans but the boys did not play to instruction.

“We led in the first two quarters and instead of them to maintain the intensity and play as a team according to instructions they were busy playing individual game. We did not play as a team.”