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Tag: Pillars

  • Akwa block Ekpai’s Pillars move

    Akwa block Ekpai’s Pillars move

    Akwa United have suspended striker Ubong Ekpai and declared that he will not be allowed to join Kano Pillars.

    Ekpai was one of the standout performers for the Uyo club during the first round, but failed to return when the club resumed after the two-week mid-season break.

    Media reports later emerged claiming the player had teamed up with Kano Pillars.

    Akwa United chairman Isong Isang reacted angrily. “These kind of things can only happen in Nigerian football,” Isang told KickOffNigeria.com.

    “How can a player under contract just get up and move to another club without permission from his club? How can Kano Pillars just take our player without permission from us?

    “Up till now nobody from Kano Pillars has come to us or called anybody at Akwa United to discuss the player’s clearance or anything at all relating to the player, so we are only aware of him being at Pillars from newspaper quotes attributed to him.”

    Isang said the player would be suspended while the matter is taken to the LMC for adjudication.

    “Ubong is our player, and we cannot block his progress but things have to be done through the right channels.

    “If Kano Pillars like our player they should approach us and both parties will try and reach an agreement, otherwise no deal.

    “Officially, we have suspended him for leaving his duty post. We have also notified LMC and the NFF. We patiently wait to see the outcome of this, but unless Kano Pillars come to us and meet our terms, they cannot register Ukpai this season.”

  • DStv Premier Basketball League: Kano Pillars retain title

    DStv Premier Basketball League: Kano Pillars retain title

    • Mark Mentors cry foul • Usman wins MVP 

     

    KanoPillars exhibited the true hallmark of a champion when they edged out Mark Mentors 89-88 to retain the NBBF organised DStv Premier Basketball League at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos at the weekend.

    The victory makes the coach Sani Ahmed tutored Pillars the first team in the history of the competition with four titles out of the six-season-old league

    The thrilling final, which kept fans at the edge of their seats as the Abuja-based Mentors looked set to do the impossible leading by four points (88-84) with nine seconds left. But the coach Peter Ahmedu side allowed the euphoria of winning a first title become its greatest undoing, thus allowing Pillars energetic point guard Adeolu Olaiya to go on a fast-break for two points.

    A hasty ball-inbound finally cost Mentors the game as Olaiya’s steal  set-up Pillars hit-man Abubakar Usman who made a three-point with three seconds remaining.

    Efforts by Mentors to draw a foul or hit two-point did not yield result as the buzzer went off to signal the end of the game which Pillars won 89-88  (20-25, 21-19, 20-18 and 28-26).

    Mark Mentors coach, Peter Ahmedu, however, believes his team was robbed of victory. He revealed that an official protest will be filed to the relevant authority.

    “Definitely I’m going to make an official complaint. I want the federation to go back and play that tape and  to tell us why the referee stopped the game when it was four seconds left. Then we’ll accept our defeat”, a visible angry Ahmedu said.

    Kano Pillars went home with N1million  and Mark Mentors got N750,000 while both teams will now represent Nigeria at the upcoming Continental games.

    Dodan Warriors won N500,000 after claiming the third spot with a over-time 81-71 points (08-16, 14-22, 18-15, 27-14 and 04-14) victory over Gombe Bulls.  Nigerian International Abubakar Usman of Kano Pillars won his second consecutive Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Final 8 award. Nda’ Abu as he is popularly called also won the Highest Scorer award having ended the tournament as the leading scorer with 138 points in five matches. While Mark Mentors forward Abdul Yahaya went home with the Highest Rebounder award.

  • DSTV PREMIER BASKETBALL PLAYOFF: Kano Pillars battle Mark Mentors in today’s final

    Kano Pillars hope to retain their NBBF/DSTV Premier Basketball  League crown today when they face Mark Mentors in the playoff’s final billed to hold at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    2014 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP), Abubakar Usman scored 14 points with four assists to lead Pillars to a 76-45 points victory over Gombe Bulls in the first semifinal match yesterday.

    The one sided encounter saw the coach Sani Ahmed tutored Pillars dominate the four quarters 16-13, 35-33, 53-39 and 76-45.

    In the second semi-final, Mark Mentors defeated Dodan Warriors 72-63 to set up all Savannah Conference final with the defending champion Kano Pillars.

    In a chat with SportingLife, President of Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF, Tijani Umar, said it is difficult to predict who will eventually be the champion.

    “The beauty of this game is that you cannot predict who will be the winner of the championship. It’s a very keen competition and that is good for the game. Kano Pillars and Mark Mentors have proved their quality and I expect to see an explosive and entertaining game on Saturday. I want to urge basketball fans to come to the stadium and see the best of Nigerian basketball.”

    This season, the semi final pairing saw three teams (Kano Pillars, Mark Mentors and Gombe Bulls) qualify from the Savanah Conference while Atlantic Conference was represented by Dodan Warriors. Umar believes the achievement has to do with the investment in the game of basketball in the area.

    “That means the other conference is not sleeping. They are on top of their game, they are playing well and managing their teams well. It’s a big surprise that three of them are in the semi-final but it shows you that there is serious commitment; there is investment from that side of the country,” he noted.

  • BASKETBALL PLAY-OFF: We are not scared of Pillars – Gombe Bulls coach

    BASKETBALL PLAY-OFF: We are not scared of Pillars – Gombe Bulls coach

    Gombe Bulls coach, Abdulrahaman Mohammed has said his side will not give too much respect to Kano Pillars when both sides meet in one of today’s 2013/2014 DSTV Premier Basket League play off at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

    Bulls emerged runners up in Group B with an impressive 2-1 record win over Islanders and Oluyole Warriors but lost to Mark mentors while Pillars won all its three group games to emerge Group A leaders.

    Mohammed in a chat told SportingLife said his boys can do the magic against the defending champions.

    He added that one of the things that is work for the team is the support he and his wards enjoy from the Gombe State Sports Commission.

    “I beleive we can do it. Nothing is impossible in the game of sport. We’ve tried our best to reach this level and we are not ready to surrender at this stage.

  • Pillars banished to Kaduna

    Pillars banished to Kaduna

    The league Management Company (LMC) has ordered Kano Pillars to play their Week 13 Glo Premier League match against Nasarawa United in Kaduna State, SportingLife can report.

    It was exclusively gathered that Sai Masu Gida was banished to play their next three home games away in Kaduna following their fans’ harassment of the match officials that handled their last home game against Heartland FC. The match ended 1-1.

    The officials claimed in their match report that they were harassed by the home fans on their way to the hotel after the match.

    Confirming the report, the club’s media officer, Idris Malikawa told SportingLife that they have protested LMC‘s decision but will honour the Nasarawa United’s game in Kaduna.

    “We just received a letter from LMC that we will play our next three matches in Kaduna. We were told that the match officials wrote in their match report that our fans harassed them on their way to the hotel. We have contested that because the incident happened outside the stadium but we are already in Kaduna to honour Nasarawa United game,” Malikawa told SportingLife.

    Meanwhile, the management of Kano Pillars have officially reported Gombe United to the League Management Company (LMC) for appropriate action following the attack on his team during the Week 12 Glo Premier League tie played at the Pantami Stadium on Wednesday.

    The Sai Masu Gida won the northern derby in a five goal thriller by 3-2 to secure their first away win this season.

    Adamu Mohammed opened scoring in the 24th minute for the home team before it was cancelled by the CHAN Eagles midfielder, Rabiu Ali who got the equaliser in the 37th minute.

    Abdul Haruna sealed the victory for the visitors with his double strike for the third and fourth goals in the 40th and 43rd minutes. As Gombe United pushed to cancel Pillars two goals lead, Haruna Babalo then put one back for the home team as the final score stood 2-3 at full time.

    It was understood that the players and officials Kano Pillars were hurled with stones by fans of Gombe United after the game.

    The Savannah Scorpions fans broke Pillars’ bus side mirrors, the team had to spend over 50 minutes in the stadium before they were rescued by the policemen.

    Malikwa told SportingLife that they have forwarded their protest letter to the league body through the match commissioner Wale Olaleke from Osun State.

    “We have communicated our displeasure over Gombe United fans to the LMC. We’ve forwarded the letter through the match commissioner. We do not only want them (Gombe United) to be punished but to take decisive action against them. This is not good for our football and any club that wants to put the league name into disrepute should be punished,” Malikawa told SportingLife.

  • Akwa dismiss Pillars’ threat

    Akwa dismiss Pillars’ threat

    Akwa United goalkeeper Olufemi Kayode has dismissed suggestions they may be affected by their first defeat of the season against Enyimba when they host a resurgent Kano Pillars this weekend in Uyo.

    The Promise Keepers still lead the Glo Premier League with 11 points on goal difference from Bayelsa United, while Pillars have moved up to third, two points adrift of the leaders on nine points.

    Kayode reckons they were unlucky to have given up their unbeaten record as they played a 50-50 game with Enyimba. He said they still have the strength and determination to maintain the lead in the premiership and would prove themselves on Saturday with a decisive win against Pillars.

    “We’re happy that we are still leading despite losing our last game to Enyimba. The least we can do is to make sure we beat Pillars to maintain our lead. We can’t afford to take our foot off the pedal. We have taken note of Pillars’ improvement in the league after a poor start, and we’re ready for the match,” Kayode told supersport.com.

    “The game against Enyimba could have gone either way, so the defeat doesn’t indicate anything is going in the reverse direction. We used our (State) Federation Cup victory over Police Machines on Thursday to perfect our strategies for the match. We have prepared well for Pillars and are confident of victory.”

    Kayode is adamant they have shown enough character to deal with life at the top of the league.

    “We’re still on top of the league table and it’s down to us to remain there – it is down to the mental strength of our team. We are looking to maintain our lead. That is our focus at the moment.

    “It may be early days, but things are really heating up, especially from our own perspective. There have been many surprise results and we have also stepped up our preparations to ensure that we are always ready. We’ve put our last game behind us and we look forward to beating Pillars while the rest of the league keeps up the chase,” he told supersport.com.

    Akwa United have led the Glo Premier League from the start of the season, with a 100% record at home and just one defeat in three games on the road.

  • Pillars woes increase

    Pillars woes increase

    Kano Pillars will be further depleted for today’s league clash at Enugu Rangers as Umar Zango is injured and Mustapha Musa is unfit.

    Experienced central defender Zango, who has been capped by Nigeria at full international level, will miss the match as he is nursing a foot injury he picked up from training.

    The coaches are also far from satisfied with the match fitness of defensive midfielder Musa, according to club spokesman Idris Malikawa.

    Already,champions Pillars will be without strikers Gambo Mohammed and Kabiru Umar.

    Pillars forced visiting Sunshine Stars to a 2-2 draw in their first game of the new season, while Rangers fell 2-1 at regional rivals Enyimba.

    The Kano club suffered one of their worst defeats last season in Enugu when they were thrashed 4-1.

    Rangers have been promised a hefty cash gift if they win today.

  • Abdullahi Shehu: Pillars will bounce back against AS Vita

    Abdullahi Shehu: Pillars will bounce back against AS Vita

    Midfielder Abdullahi Shehu says he is optimistic Kano Pillars will bounce back when they host AS Vita in the second leg clash of their crucial CAF Champions League match today.

    The new Super Eagles team A invitee missed the first leg clash owing to a visa hitch which saw the 10-man league champions defeated 3-1 in Sunday’s preliminary round first leg fixture at the Stade Tata Raphael in Kinshasa.

    Shehu, who was a member of the CHAN Eagles after the Presidential Reception Thursday, told Goal: ‘We’re aware of how crucial the game is as we need to advance to the next round. I believe we will bounce back playing at home in Kano. We’ll be fighting until the end and we can count on Kano fans to support the team to victory on Saturday (today).

    “We always knew they are good, and now they have to come to play in Kano where we will be difficult to beat in front of our home fans. We won’t give them any space. We are going to put them under pressure from the start, and then we will see how it finishes.

    “The most important thing is to keep putting pressure on AS Vita on Saturday. We have to keep scoring goals to get an advantage as we are destined to qualify,” the former Flying Eagles star said.

    In a related development, supporters are confident that Kano Pillars will turn the table against AS Vita.

    “Football is round, and I strongly believe that Kano Pillars will make a strong comeback this weekend,” Udoka Chukwu, a staunch supporter of Kano Pillars told Goal.

  • CAF Champions League: Pillars’ in Congo with 84-man delegation

    CAF Champions League: Pillars’ in Congo with 84-man delegation

    • Emordi gets trophy mandate

    Players and officials of Kano Pillars left for Kinshasa, DR Congo yesterday night for their CAF Champions League first leg clash against AS Vita.

    The delegation was originally scheduled to leave the Aminu Kano International Airport this morning, but the club management changed the flight schedule on Friday due to unfavourable weather forecast. The trip was thus moved back by a day and the team left Thursday night.

    The club’s media officer, Idris Malikawa told SportingLife that the 84-man delegation traveled aboard a chartered Congo Airline.

    “We received important information about the weather condition in DR Congo which warranted the need to reschedule our flight arrangement from Friday to Thursday.

    “We need to be there on time to acclimatise with the weather condition there. As I am talking to you now we are already on board and ready for the trip,” Malikawa told SportingLife last night.

    18 players and 7 technical crew, all club board members, state government officials, state FA chairman and NFF representatives were part of the 84-man delegation that left for Kinshasa.

    Meanwhile, the management of Kano Pillars have set a CAF Champions League trophy as the target for its new Technical Adviser, Okey Emordi.

    Emordi was officially unveiled to the board at the club’s secretariat in Kano on Wednesday by the Pillars chairman, Abba Yola.

    Yola told SportingLife that the board charged Emordi to ensure that Pillars retain the Glo Nigeria Premier League title won back-to-back in the two previous seasons and help the club win the Federation Cup.

    “It is important that we maintain the status quo by retaining the Glo League title and, most importantly, win the CAF Champions League and Federation Cup which have been missing in our trophy cabinet,” Abba Yola told SportingLife.

    Yola also said the club will not interfere with Emordi’s job while advising him to assess the qualification of the other coaches in the team and work with anyone that has the experience that meets the standard of the League Managemnt Company (LMC), CAF and FIFA requirements.

  • Pillars open title defence at Giwa

    Pillars open title defence at Giwa

    Defending Globacom Premier League champions Kano Pillars will open their title defence on February 23 against newly promoted Giwa FC.

    Pillars, who finished third in the just-concluded Super 4 where they won just a game, will travel to Jos to face the NNL Champions.

    Giwa FC official, Sammy Adesoji told MTNFootball.com that there is no cause for alarm as they will be ready to face Pillars in the league opener.

    “All the teams that will play in the Globacom Premier League have the same ambition of lifting the trophy, so every game will have a high tempo. We are opening the season at home against champions Pillars. No cause for alarm as we will be ready for them as we will go for three points,” Adesoji maintained.