Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM) Basketball Club of Lagos clinched the 2023 Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League Championship with a 64-60 victory over Nigeria Customs Basketball Club on Thursday. This historic win marks the first time MFM has secured the title, earning the right to represent the country in regional and continental club championships.
Right from the opening whistle, MFM displayed their dominance in a tightly contested battle at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos. Their relentless performance earned them the championship title and a prize of N1,750,000.
The Air Warriors Basketball Club of Abuja secured the second-place position in the round-robin competition, having won two games during the tournament, and received N750,000 in recognition of their efforts. Nigeria Customs Basketball Club finished in third place and was awarded N500,000.
Ochuko Owolabi, the Head Coach of MFM, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and attributed the team’s success to their hard work and determination. She expressed confidence that this championship was only the beginning of their winning journey.
Likewise, Samson Sotinmi, Coach of the Air Warriors, expressed his contentment with the team’s achievements, acknowledging that they could have secured the championship had it not been for their first game’s outcome, which proved costly. Sotinmi looked forward to more competitions to keep the team active and to develop players for future championships.
Temitope Fasaranti, Executive Director representing Zenith Bank, the competition’s sponsors, extended congratulations to all the players who participated. He affirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting sports activities that reward hard work and entrepreneurship among youth. Fasaranti underlined the bank’s dedication to promoting sports, particularly basketball, which has consistently produced top-quality players for national teams and international clubs and colleges over the years.
