Eko Kings still unbeatable as CBL train moves to Yaoundé

Eko kings Basketball Club maintained their winning streak at the weekend when they defeated Yaoundé Giants 83 to 76 in the final game of the Lagos leg of the Continental Basketball League, tagged May Madness, which ended at the Teslim Balogun Stadium at the weekend.

All six teams in the league, namely Yaoundé Giants, Eko Kings, Lagos Warriors, Abidjan Raiders, Lagos City Stars and Libreville Izobe Dragons left Lagos yesterday for Yaoundé aboard a chartered flight from the Murtala Muhammed Airport.

Before one of the best games of the tournament so far, Eko Kings and Yaoundé Giants had not lost any match going into the encounter and the understanding that one loser must emerge at the buzzer fired up the teams. But the Kings led by Ayo Bakare won the game.

After the game, an exhausted Yaoundé Giants Coach, Pepuona Munyutu SouleymanHe said, “We lost the game in the early part. When you trail a team like this by 15 points at the break you are going to run yourself out of steam trying to catch up. And that’s exactly what happened.

“We hoped to reduce the influence of their point guard on the game but that didn’t work out well and that made a lot of difference. But that’s basketball; we have seen the other team better today going forward. There are still a lot of games left to play and I am sure we could meet again in the Final-Four playoffs.”

The result means that Eko Kings have won all four games played so far and lead the other five teams. They are followed by the Giants who will be playing in front of their fans in the next three days.

Before that match Warriors won their first match by beating Izobe Dragons 107-97.

The round robin challenge continues with matches today, Tuesday and Wednesday before the teams return to Lagos on Thursday for the next stage.

The CBL Africa tournament, which began at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos May 12, will run through June 4, as the teams continue to go head-to-head against each other. When the teams return to Lagos from Cameroon, the best-of-the-best in basketball will hit the court on the May 27 and 28 for the tournament’s All Star weekend. In the same package celebrities will play against basketball veterans, and youth players, three pointers will be flying, and of course the highly anticipated Slam Dunk contest.