The group phase of the NCC Tennis League was concluded over
the weekend in six cities with Team CBN Futures earning their first point ever.
Team Offikwu of Kaduna and Team Leadway Assurance of Lagos emerged from the
White Group while Team Tech Vibes of Jos led the White Group with Team Goshen
of Ilorin clinching the second spot.
In their final group ties, Team Tech Vibes already sure of a
semifinal place before the final tie, took no chances as they came out in full
force to rout Team Kalotari on their home turf in Port Harcourt 5 - 2.
With Goshen and Kalotari on three points, a win by the Port
Harcourt based team would have seen them through to the semifinals on a
superior matches won and lost consideration. Goshen had an easy tie againat
Team Anambra in Ilorin to chalk up their points to four but the jubilation in
Ilorin after Tech Vibes got the upset win reverberated all the way to Port
Harcourt.
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Michael Osewa of CBN Futures was also one of the players in action over the weekend. |
"We are very happy with the organisation and fairness
of the competition," Bola Amurawaiye, team manager of Goshen who could
hardly contain his joy said amid tears.
"For Team Tech Vibes of Jos to beat a formidable team
like Kalotari away shows how fair the officiating and organisation is. You
cannot imagine what could happen if it was a Nigerian Football League decider
with N7 million at stake."
Team Leadway Assurance and Team Offikwu also had relatively
easy final matches.
Team Leadway Assurance defeated Team Luik of Lekki - Lagos
5-2 in a local derby while Team Offikwu, playing in Abuja because of the unrest
in Kaduna overpowered Team Yetade of Ekiti 7 - 0.
However, the highlight of the final ties was the young lads
of Team CBN Futures earning their first ever point by beating Team Orofina of
Warri 4-3. The team of top junior players has been knocking on the door of
success for a while playing close matches against senior players but losing in
final sets. This time they rode their luck.
Godgift Timibra started
with a 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 win over Nurudeen Adebisi of Team Orofina but
Endurance Ehi leveled scores with a tight 6-3, 3-6, 12-10 defeat of Michael
Oshewa.
Junaid Mohammed put the CBN Futures team ahead again by
beating Orofina's Gege Iveren 6-1, 6-1 before the combination of Timibra and
Oshewa combined to win the men's doubles against Ehi and Jerry Spencer 6-3, 7-5
to extend their lead to 3-1.
The CBN Futures team secured an unassailable 4-1 lead on the
second day with Timibra beating Spencer 6-0, 7-5 in the first reverse singles.
The other team of youngsters made up of intermediates, Team
Next Gen, also secured an away win in Jos where they beat Team SBL 5-2. The
Abuja based team had earlier in the series defeated Team Yetade in Abuja 4-3 to
bag two points to ensure a decent placement in the White Group.
The first semifinals will pitch Team Tech Vibe against Team
Leadway Assurance in Enugu, Wednesday November 28 and Thursday November 29
while the second semifinal will hold in Abuja Saturday December 1 and Sunday
December 2.
The third place and the final ties will take place at the
Lagos Lawn Tennis Club Thursdsy December 6 to Sunday December 9.
The competition which is run by the International Tennis
Academy is offering a total prize money of N23 million with the champion team
going home with N7 million.