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Nigeria’s only
surviving team at the ongoing 25th edition of the Africa Champions Cup
for men taking place in Cotonou, Benin Republic, Kano Pillars, say they
are looking beyond today’s quarter final clash with Cameroonian side,
Condor Basketball Club.

No Nigerian team
has ever played in the finals of the continent’s biggest club
championships. However, Kano Pillars, who are the champions from
Nigeria and also Zone 3 champions, hope to make history by first
winning today’s’ tie and making progress in the competition. Pillars
and Nigeria senior national team guard, Abubakar Usman, said the real
battle for the soul of the African title just began with the
quarter-final fixtures.

Team charge

Usman charged his
teammates to go all out against the Cameroonians who proved book-makers
wrong last Sunday to end the invincibility of the defending champion,
Primeiro de Agosto Basketball Club. He declined to comment on the
strength of their Cameroonian opponents, and is optimistic that Pillars
would be able to do the job of getting past them. He held that Pillars
always respect every opponent but would approach the game with all
seriousness from the jump-ball to the buzzer. “We are happy with the
quarter-finals pairing and the game will be treated with all
seriousness as we cannot afford to drop the game at this stage of the
competition, which is about the most important aspect of any
competition because the loser never get another opportunity to right
the wrongs committed,” he said. “Though we respect Condor like every
other team, especially when they are the only side to have defeated
Primeiro de Agosto in the last three years of the Africa Champions Cup,
that alone is enough morale booster for them but we shall do everything
possible to stop them on Friday. Our team is made up of tested players
who know what it takes to play a team like Condor and our bench knows
what to do at every given time as we match on to the African title.”

Fine run

Pillars were
invincible in the first round where they not only topped their group
but also maintained a hundred percent record a feat no other team
achieved. Condor beat another Nigerian side, Royal Hoopers Basketball
Club on Wednesday in both sides’ last Group-B game by 60-49 points.
Other quarter-finals pairings billed for today pitches Inter-Club
against AS Sale, while Manga play defending champion, Primeiro de
Agosto. ASB Mazembe will battle Maxaquene in the last quarter-final
pairing at.