Oluyole Warriors on Thursday morning continued their impressive run in the Ibadan Centre of the Atlantic Conference in the Nigeria Premier Basketball League with a hard fought 63-59 victory over Ondo Raiders.
Oluyole Warriors’ victory was their third of the playoffs from four games in the 2023 Men’s Basketball Premier League.
The Oyo State team started the game slowly, losing the first quarter 11 point to 14.
Coach Taiye Sobogun led boys improved in the second quarter adding 18 points to their haul, while their opponent only managed to score 15 points to tie 29-29 going into half time.
Ondo Raiders fought very hard to win the third quarter by a point, only for Oluyole Warriors to fight as warriors in the fourth quarter to regain dominance, scoring 20 points in the half against Ondo’s 15 to finish the game 63-59 in favour of Oluyole Warriors.
Speaking with BCOS Sports reporter Boluwaji Ogunmola after the game, Coach Taiye Sobogun blamed his team’s struggle on fatigue.
“As you can see, we struggled due to fatigue, we played Falcons yesterday evening and we have to play this game this morning, but we are happy we won. A win is a win.” he concluded.
Oluyole Warriors have only lost a game, 48-52 against Ebun Comets this season.
The Oluyole Warriors had on Wednesday evening defeated defending Champions Kwara Falcons 67-58 points in an explosive encounter decided at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Ibadan.
In the second game of Day 5, Impressions lost 42-65 points to Hoops and Reads.
In a game highly dominated by Hoops, the club Owned by former D’Tigers captain Olumide Oyedeji, started the game brightly, taking the first quarter 19-14.
The second quarter was more comfortable for the Hoops, as they added 20 points against 10 for Impressions.
Hoops managed to take the third quarter by a point, before closing the game with a further 18 points as against 11 to Impressions in the last quarter.
The win was Hoops & Reads third win in four games having suffered their only loss to Kwara Falcons on Day 2.
Coach Seun Akinwale of Hoops and Reads expressed his delight after securing another win in a tough Ibadan Centre.
“I’m glad we won our third game, we take our matches game-by-game and we’re just looking forward to our next match.”
“It wasn’t an easy game at all, but we are hopeful we’ll make it out of the group.” He concluded.
The loss against Hoops and Reads was Impressions’ third in four games, having secured their only win on Day 4 against Invaders
In the last game of the day, defending Champions, Kwara Falcons bounced back from Wednesday loss to Oluyole Warriors to secure an emphatic win over Invaders.
The Harmony Warriors dominated the game from start to finish to record 86-59 victory over Invaders.
Head Coach of Kwara Falcons Baba Jubril praised his team’s strong character to bounce back from yesterday’s loss to Oluyole Warriors.
“The win shows the kind of character the team have, not allowing the loss of yesterday to stop their games. The loss is a good sign that we have to work more so as to win the next game” he said.
The Falcons have now won four games in five outings, with their only loss coming against Oluyole Warriors, while Invaders remain winless after four games.
Actions continue on Day 6 (Friday), with Ebun Comets taking on Hoops & Reads at 10:00am, Oluyole Warriors versus Invaders at 12:00noon and Ondo Raiders facing Impressions in the last game of the day..
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