Debutants, Air Warriors yesterday emerged champions of the 2019 Zenith Women Basketball League.
The Abuja based club defeated fellow debutants MFM Queens 57-53 at the Indoor Sports hall of the national Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
In the tightly contested final, Air Warriors led all through the game, ending the first quarter 14-7, the second 34-24 and the third 46-36.
In a spirited effort to get back into the game, MFM pushed forward in the final quarter as they came within two points of Air Warriors before the Abuja team sealed the victory
Following this victory, the Air Warriors have become the first Savannah Conference team to win the league as well as the first team to win the championship in their first season.
Murjanatu Musa of Air Warriors was voted the Most Valuable Player, MVP, of the tournament.
She was also listed alongside Ifunanya Okoro (First Bank), Gbihi Cynthia (Dolphins), Josette Anaswem (Customs) and Ifunanya Ijeh (MFM Queens) as the Tournament’s Top 5.
For individual awards, Jossette Anaswem emerged as tournament’s highest point scorer as well as the Three Points shooter.
This year’s runners up MFM Queens were formed in 2018 and made it to the semis in the same year only to be stopped by Dolphins whom they defeated at the same stage in this year’s edition to get to the finals.
Both Air Warriors and MFM will represent Nigeria in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Champions Cup qualifiers in Cotonou scheduled for 28 October to 3 November.
First Bank finished in third place by trouncing Dolphins 81-36 in a one-sided classification game that preceded the final.
The Elephant Ladies beaten by Air Warriors in the semi-final on Wednesday were ruthless against their fellow Lagos side, racing to a 21-13 lead by the end of the first quarter.
They extended their lead to 46-25 by the end of the first half and were 65-30 up going into the final quarter.
Ifunanya Okoro of First Bank was in devastating form, scoring a game-high 30 points and adding six rebounds.
Henry Oron, the Executive Director of sponsor Zenith Bank Plc, congratulated the new champions and expressed satisfaction at the level of competition in the tournament.
Oron praised all the eight teams in the Final 8 and recalled how the national women’s team, D’Tigress, are African champions, raising the profile of Nigerian basketball.
The Executive Director therefore commended Zenith Bank’s role in the development of the game and pledged that the bank will remain committed to supporting women and youths in sports.
