Abuja, Enugu set for NCC Tennis League semifinals

The NCC Tennis League Cup has now reached the business end of the competition with the four teams that emerged from the round-robin group ties now having their sights firmly fixed on the N7 million winner’s jackpot.

The four teams are Tech Vibes of Jos and Goshen of Ilorin from the White Group and Offikwu and Leadway Assurance from the Blue Group.

According to the new schedule released by the International Tennis Academy (ITA), organisers of the competition, the first semifinal will now be between Team Offikwu and Team Goshen of Ilorin on December 1 and 2 at the Abuja National Stadium Tennis Centre, while the second semifinal, which will take place at the Enugu Sports Club on December 3 and 4, will have Team Leadway Assurance battling Team Tech Vibes for a place in the finals.

Enugu will be hosting Joseph Imeh, the current national men’s No.1 player and Sarah Adegoke, the ladies’ champion. Also featuring in both teams are three active former national champions – Thomas Otu for Tech Vibes and Babalola Abdulmumin and Clifford Enosoregbe for Leadway Assurance.

In Abuja, four former champions – Christie Agugbom, Sylvester Emmanuel, Henry Atseye and Shehu Lawal will be playing for Team Offikwu while Blessing Samuel who is on the verge of winning three national tournaments in a row will lead the Team Goshen challenge against Team Offikwu. 

“We hope that a full week’s rest will do our top players, coming from two straight weeks of national tournaments, a lot of good and make them play their best for the tennis fans in Abuja and Enugu,” Godwin Kienka, director of the ITA said.

The third-place tie for the losing semi-finalists and the championship tie scheduled for the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club Thursday, December 6 to Sunday, December 9 remain unchanged.