Nigeria Customs basketball team Wednesday took absolute control of their second game at the ongoing Savannah Conference phase of the 2018/2019 Zenith Bank Women’s Basketball League by defeating Kaduna Angels 70-36.
The Abuja-based Customs had struggled in the opening game of the conference phase against Plateau Rocks on Tuesday, which they managed to win 53-49.
But against a less-fancied Kaduna Angels on Wednesday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, the former champions put up a better all-round performance.
Customs settled into the game from the first quarter, which they easily took 27-14.
As soon as the second quarter began, Kaduna Angels had all but surrendered the game to Customs, as they could only manage three points against Customs’ 22.
Customs extended their lead in the third quarter, although they concentrated more on retaining the ball than scoring points.
Josette Anaswen was the top performer with 16 points, six assists and a 50 per cent free throws’ conversation rate.
She was closely followed by teammate Theresa Dangousu, who scored 10 points, one assist, seven rebounds and a free throw conversation rate of 50 per cent.
Team captain Blessing Imonoh was Kaduna Angels’ best performer with 12 points, two assists and four rebounds.
Unlike in their opening game against Plateau Rocks when their defence collapsed in the final quarter, Customs were able to control the game from start to finish.
Team captain Theresa Samuel told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they evaluated their previous performance and made amends.
“It was a much-improved performance from us today. After the game against Plateau Rocks, we just discussed what we did wrong and worked on improving,” she said.
On her part, Imonoh admitted that the better team won.
She was, however, optimistic about her team’s chances.
“They were better than us and it was obvious. We all know they have experienced players.
“Our team is young and relatively-inexperienced, but I’m sure we’ll make the National Eight,” Imonoh said.
