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Much excitement is expected in today’s top of the bill clash between table toppers, Ebun Comets and staunch rivals, Dodan Warriors, as the regular season of the Nigeria DSTV Premier Basketball League continues.

The coach Ayo Bakare-tutored Comets side defeated Warriors by two points the last time out, as they rallied to a 83-81 points victory and Bakare who also doubles as the national women’s team coach, says it would be a big plus to achieve a double over the Warriors this season.

“We are prepared for the game; I hope to have get another victory over them but Warriors is a good side and I expect a good fight,” he said.

No mistakes

However, coach Adeka Daudu of the Warriors team, said his players has learnt from the loss to Comets and hopes to right the wrongs today.

“They were the better side last time, they got away with a two points win, so we are hoping that this time, we would look at the errors that we made and move on. We actually gave them too much respect but we will not make the same mistake this time around,” he said.

Daudu ruled out any special incentive or motivation for his players ahead of today’s game as he pointed out that it was just like any other game. “It is like any other game, though the players have been waiting for such big games, they have been talking about the game and I am sure it will be nice game for all.

“There is nothing like a special game,” he continued. Daudu however appealed to fans to throng the indoor sports hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, venue of today’s match to come and have a feel of local basketball at its best.

“It will be a good way to relax after Saturday’s election; my team is good at entertaining the crowd and Sunday will not be any different,” he finished.

Contests in the DSTV league are getting tougher, as teams jostle for points to brighten their qualification for the Final Eight playoffs slated for June as some teams also battle against relegation.

In two days time, quarter-final matches of the UEFA Champions League will take place in stadia across Europe.

Excitement is building up in the run up to the games, which will see the remaining eight clubs jostling for places in the last four.

With two English clubs, Manchester United and Chelsea billed to clash on Wednesday at the Stamford Bridge, football fans in Nigeria are bracing themselves up for a delicious fare to be served by two of England’s leading football clubs.

Other matches in the quarter-final fixtures include the encounter between nine-time champions, Real Madrid and flamboyant English side, Tottenham Hotspurs, the clash between defending champions, Inter Milan of Italy and Schalke 04 of Germany and the much anticipated match between Barcelona FC and the irreverent Shakhtar FC of Ukraine, which put highly rated Roma of Italy to the sword in the round of 16.

Viewing centres across Lagos are bracing up for the expected surge of customers. One venue where excitement is expected to reach feverish pitch is the Heineken Planet House located on Victoria Island in Lagos.

The Planet House resumed in February for the first knockout round of the UEFA Champions League, and presented an opportunity for some lucky fans and consumers of the Heineken brand from various cities across the country to be united with other invited guests to witness sublime football.

The guests, who cut across business leaders and loyal consumers who secured invitation from a multi-city recruitment from in-bar locations in six major cities outside Lagos namely: Abuja, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Kaduna and Port Harcourt clearly relished the experience.

One such fan was Ihieaka Ikechukwu, an ardent follower of both local and international football. Aside his passion for the round leather game, his leisure period is mostly spent with friends after a busy day’s schedule at pubs where he relaxes with friends to unwind.

It was one of such days late in January in the coal city of Enugu that he had an encounter with the Heineken Champions Planet activation team at the bar location. While other lucky consumers were rewarded with branded souvenirs on that night, Ikechukwu was luckier because, the lucky dip draw earned him the right to watch the UEFA Champions League second round knock out matches at the prestigious Heineken Champions Planet with all an expense paid trip to Lagos on match days.

The real deal

At first, the young man could not see any big deal in this because he and his friends have always watched matches at various viewing centres in the city where they share their passion for their various clubs. However, since the trip to Lagos was not going to cost him anything, he opted for the adventure.

“Initially, I thought the whole thing was a farce because I would have loved to win one of their very attractive souvenirs instead of coming to Lagos to watch football matches that I could have watched at home or with friends at numerous viewing centres located around my area.

“I was reluctant but with both flight and accommodation expense already booked, I opted to have the ‘Planetary’ experience I had read in the papers and watched on television over the years,” he said.

For Ikechukwu and some others from other locations who left their hotel rooms for the Heineken Champions Planet to savour Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over mighty FC Barcelona at the Emirates stadium in February, they have been given an opportunity to feature in the draw for the five lucky consumers that will be selected to watch the final match of the competition live at the Wembley Stadium in London on May 29 this year.

The Heineken Champions Planet is in its fifth season and for the first time last September, ventured into the group stages matches with the aim of creating more exciting viewing experience where football lovers can enjoy all the matches.

The Heineken brand in Nigeria has for the past five years given Nigerian football fans an opportunity to watch and experience the UEFA Champions league in a premium viewing experience.

This is the first time since it began four seasons ago that the Heineken Champions Planet is going into full scale nationwide invitation of consumers in some major cities across the country.

The Emir of Katsina Charity Shield has been named winner of the prestigious Polo Aficionado Tournament of the Decade award.

The statement, officially posted by Polo Aficionado, a media organisation, which has organised the award for years, is the latest to emerge from the decade 2001-2010 best achievers roll.

This prize surely is a major fillip to Fifth Chukker Polo and Country Club, which inaugurated the tournament in 2003 in honour of former Emir of Katsina, Muhammadu Kabir Usman, and Access bank which has sponsored the tournament for the past four years.

Eight years on from that maiden edition, and more than N100m in philanthropy mainly to UNICEF, the Emir of Katsina Charity Shield has decidedly made its mark as the premier polo charity event, which this award has superlatively authenticated.

In a triangular contest with its closest rivals, Lagos and Kaduna tournaments, the choice of the Charity Shield in the end, apparently looked easy for the Polo Aficionado panel. For competition, content and added value to Nigerian and international polo, the Charity Shield at handicap 22 out of a possible 40 has been in a league of its very own as Nigeria’s highest handicap polo tournament in the past decade.

Such dizzying handicap level also means it has consistently attracted the very top players from around the world, including stars of the mighty Argentine Open such as Silvestre Donovan (handicap +8), Diego White (+7) and Alejandro Astrada( +8). In the 2006 edition, superstar Augustin Merlos (+10) became the first ever premium rated player to play on Nigerian soil.

Altogether more than 150 foreign professional and amateur players from more than ten different countries have participated in the Charity Shield since 2003, a number five times greater than those of its rivals combined. About 30 foreign players (male and female) played in the 2008 tournament alone while visitors from more than twenty countries have also attended through the years.

When it comes to projecting Nigeria on the world polo landscape, Charity Shield is top of the bill. The distinction doesn’t end there. With a regular pool of five to six teams the Charity Shield also poleaxes its rivals for entries. Car prizes for Most Valuable Players and cash rewards for winners and runners-up definitely make other tournaments look somewhat inferior but when you consider that the Katsina Charity Shield also commands a N1m entry fee, you begin to understand why it is up there alone, not only as the most prestigious polo event in Nigeria but also as the most exclusive tournament in Africa.

As has been the case in the past, this award is expected to significantly increase the sponsorship value of the Charity Shield. Fifth Chukker polo captain, Babangida Hassan Usman Katsina concurs: “The award is clearly a validation of our efforts through the years in trying to create a world class facility for world standard polo. Nothing has been more gratifying than having all these well travelled players and visitors come to you and say how wonderful their experience at Fifth Chukker has been. I believe our sponsors will also be elated for this tremendous recognition of their support”

Man of the decade

In another development, Polo Aficionado has also posthumously given the Man of the Decade award to the late Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir Usman who passed on in 2008.

Usman was an iconic figure in Nigerian polo for much of his life having played and retired at the highest levels of the domestic game with a +5 handicap. When he succeeded to the Katsina throne in 1981, he also inherited the life presidency of the Nigerian polo Association from his father Usman Nagogo, arguably Nigeria’s greatest polo legend.

His reign and tenure witnessed the biggest ever expansion of polo in the country especially with the establishment of private clubs and the hosting of continental and world polo championships largely by Fifth Chukker.

The last decade of his eventful reign also witnessed his 25th coronation anniversary in 2006. Incidentally, a lifetime achievement award scheduled for 2008 was scuttled by his demise early that year.

In 2009, The Kaduna Polo Club unveiled a massive pavilion named after the late royal father. The Man of the Decade award celebrates the momentous polo career of the emir’s life as well as his last decade during which record milestones were achieved and surpassed mostly at his instance.

The 2011 Emir of Katsina Charity Shield is scheduled to gallop off from May 26 to June 5; again teams and players from Nigeria, Argentina, the United States and South Africa will be matching talents and wits for the different prizes on offer.

But, inevitably, it is the Charity Shield with another scintillating parade of world class professionals that has got polo fans salivating at the guaranteed prospect of yet another high goal extravaganza.

As the cricket national team prepares to compete on two fronts starting from April and then in May, one of the players that will have the burden of turning out a good performance is Femi Oduyebo of Federal Government College Warri Old Students Association (FEGOCOWOSA) cricket team.

Oduyebo came out of a selection process that had two training camps in Lagos before a final list of 16 players was released and the all-rounder was chosen for the team by the board of national selectors. The new captain of the team, Endurance Ofem believes that the selection process was thorough and that any one that made it into that final 16 list merited it.

Ofem said, “The 16 players were arrived at by the Selector’s Board of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) after two hectic training phases which ended in Lagos on February 16, 2011.” “I think the selectors did a good job in arriving at the final list of 14 players and two alternate players,” Ofem continued.

Also the new coach of the team, Sean Philips said, “Though I was not part of the selection process, I am happy about the composition and we will have a chance when the tournaments start in April.”

A new name on the batting list

The inclusion of Oduyebo elicited this response from the new captain, “Oduyebo’s inclusion is a victory for hard work and perseverance.” Ofem also commended the new national invitee for an overall improved display in the season that just ended.

Ofem also used Oduyebo’s case as an example for the players that could not make the team at the moment and advised them to continue to work hard. “I will tell the players that the national door is not closed. Femi (Oduyebo) has worked hard this year and I am happy that he has been chosen for the national team.” Oduyebo started playing the gentleman’s game at 13 years old in Ogun State. “I started when I was in JSS 3 in 1996 in Sagamu, Ogun State”, Oduyebo stated.

Oduyebo who grew up in three states; Lagos, Ogun and Osun States revealed that it was a grassroots coach called Abayomi, who introduced the game to his secondary school, Makun High School. “I was playing football for my school when cricket was introduced. I left football for cricket because it is a gentleman’s game – no fighting and no rough play”, he said.

A problem that most sportsmen and women face in Nigeria is the inability to combine playing sports with a qualitative education, something that Oduyebo has been able to accommodate successfully.

In Oduyebo’s words, “If you are intelligent you will be able to play the game of cricket especially in Nigeria. Cricket is played on weekends and since I do have any classes – I planned my weekends for cricket and weekdays for education.”

Foundation at Rocks Cricket Club

His journey in the game has been a long but ultimately fruitful one. He started playing league cricket when he was in SS1. “I started playing in the league when I was in SS1. I played for Rocks Cricket Club of Abeokuta, I then moved to Foundation Cricket Club (FCC), Lagos, from where I joined my present team.”

After he was named into the national team, Oduyebo expressed his happiness but at the same time announced his ambitions for the green-white-green jersey. He said, “It has always been my ambition to play for the country and when I heard my name, I was the happiest person on earth because I had achieved a dream that seemed unachievable at a point in time.

“But that is the starting point, I hope to help the team win our games so that we can be a part of test-playing nations in the world.”

Nigeria is currently ranked 36th in the world and not listed as a test playing country.

He enjoyed watching the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which ended on Saturday and has been a keen follower of the games and hopes that one day very soon, Nigeria will become a test playing nation. One of the games that really thrilled him was the India vs. Ireland encounter in Mumbai. “It had everything for a one-day international (ODI). There were catches, sixes and drops – there was tension until the conclusion of the second innings.”

Oduyebo is third in a family of seven. He started his primary education in Ikoyi but was later transferred to Makun High School and to Akesan Grammar School Iperu, Ogun State. In 2005 he gained admission into Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife to study Economics and graduated this year.

The motivation for the season

So many followers of the league commended the selectors for choosing the right-hander, saying that it showed that the league was improving and churning out better players. Oduyebo agreed but revealed that the motivation for him at the beginning of the season was to make sure that his team, FEGOCOWOSA, was not relegated. “I prepared purposely for my club this season because there were various jibes from guys that my club will be relegated and I told them it wouldn’t happen.

“It was a challenge that I prepared for not knowing that it would mature as a call to the national team.” Though he has experienced some horror moments on the way to become both a university graduate and a national team player, he will not trade the journey for any other. “It was a different ball game in the university compared to primary and secondary schools; where the love of the game kept you batting and bowling and the pressure of school work was not as intense as in the university,” Oduyebo disclosed.

“One bad experience I had was during this last semester at OAU. As an extra year student, I was maligned by some University of Lagos players and their lecturer, that I was no more a student, whereas I had an extra year to go – I could live with it because I appreciated the fact that they saw me as a threat to their winning the games at NUGA.

“Of course I did not like the attention and the slur it cast on my reputation, thankfully the misunderstanding was cleared up.”

There will be no such misunderstanding as Oduyebo gets ready to bat the opposition into submission in Botswana and then in South Africa. The squad is currently preparing for the Africa Premier League (APL) T-20 Division 2, which was supposed to take place in South Africa from April 22-28, 2011 but has been shifted till after the World Cricket League (WCL) Division 7 holding in Botswana from May 1-8, 2011. The national team players have procured visas for a two-week training camp in Benoni, South Africa and are billed to leave the country on April 13, 2011.

The Super Falcons will today take on the Namibian women’s national team, the Brave Gladiators in a 2012 Olympics qualifier at the Abuja National Stadium.

Though victory is the major target, the Falcons will also be seeking to continue the goals harvest currently enjoyed by the country’s other national teams.

Last weekend was a good one for Nigerian football fans as the national teams found their scoring boots again; the U-23 Olympic team defeated their opponents 5-0 and the Super Eagles notched a heartwarming 4-0 and 3-0 victories over Ethiopia and Kenya respectively.

Going for goals

Perpetua Nkwocha, reigning Africa’s Woman Player of the Year is expected to lead the Falcons attack today as the team’s coach, Eucharia Uche, stated that she wasn’t be taking any chances. “We cannot underestimate the team (Namibia), we will approach the game with all seriousness because we want to win and win convincingly,” she said.

“We are ready for the Namibians. They cannot stop us from continuing the good run for Nigeria football. My girls are upbeat and in very high spirit and we will not let the nation down.”

Seven foreign-based players were invited by the coach for today’s match. They are; Effioanwan Ekpo, Emuje Ogbiagbevha, Rita Chikwelu, Onome Ebi, Ulumma Jerome, Helen Ukaonu and Faith Ikidi.

The largesse recently received from the President for their performance at the last African Championships is also expected to motivate the girls and particularly with a ticket to the Olympics up for grabs. The six-time African champions are thus expected to go full throttle against the Gladiators at the Abuja National Stadium pitch today.

The Falcons will also be using the qualifiers to prepare for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup that is scheduled for Germany in June.

In 2008 the Super Falcons hammered the Brave Gladiators 10-1 on aggregate in an African Nations Cup qualifier but that might be a tough score to repeat as the Namibians have improved and have promised to offer a stiffer contest today for the Falcons.

No pushovers

The Namibian coach, Jacqui Shipanga says aside any other thing; she believes the Super Falcons respect her team as it was obvious in their planning to field their best players in today’s first-leg qualifying match.

Shipanga said the fact that Nigeria assembled their strongest possible squad was a testament of her team’s recent rapid progress. Shipanga also added that her players were more than capable of holding their own against the Falcons.

“We are not called the Brave Gladiators for nothing,” said Shipanga. “If we can’t beat them, then we can learn from them.”

Also Queen Manga, captain of the Brave Gladiators said the positive morale in the team will push them to greater heights against their more experienced opponents today.

She told local Namibian reporters before departing for Nigeria that her teammates were in high spirits ahead of the first leg qualifier and the team is looking forward to showing the rest of the continent just how much they have progressed over the last few years.

According to Manga, the Brave Gladiators are feeling confident after comfortably seeing off neighbours Botswana 1-0 in a friendly last Saturday plus their narrow 1-2 loss against the highly rated Banyana Banyana in South Africa a fortnight ago. Manga said the team could even cause an upset against the Super Falcons.

Namibia are ranked 17th in African women’s football while Nigeria has occupied the top spot on the continent for years.

“We are not going there to lose,” said Manga, who is poised for her 34th cap today. Last time we were not well prepared. I feel that Sunday (today) will go very well for us. We are developing into a super team!”

While exuding confidence in their team’s ability to give a tough fight to the Falcons, Shipanga also stated that one of her team’s focuses is to reduce the 10-1 record the Falcons set in their last encounter.

Shipanga however admitted that a win against Nigeria would be difficult by any stretch of the imagination, considering the gulf in class between her youthful squad and the wealth of experience the Super Falcons currently boast of.

“The youngest player in our team is the 16-year old player from Eldorado High School, Albertina ‘Chicken’ Davis. She only started playing last year at the Zone VI (Youth) games. Now Albertina will have to play against Perpetua (Nkwocha), who is 35 years old and has participated in numerous World Cups. There is a 20-year gap between the players.

“The last time we played them we lost 10-1. I want us to improve on this performance if we can,” Shipanga said before leaving Windhoek for Lagos.

Theoretically, the Falcons and the Gladiators are only two stages away from qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

While the return leg for today’s match is billed for Windhoek in two weeks time, the winning team over the two legs will play the winner of the match between Ghana and Liberia.

Izetta Sombo Wesley from Liberia has been named as match commissioner for today’s game while the centre referee is Fadouma Dia, to be assisted by assistant referees Adia Isseu Cisse and Die Alse Sylla while the fourth official Amina Fall completes the list officials who are all from Senegal.

Just as an oddly shaped Christmas gift intrigues a young child before the wrapping comes off, next week’s Masters has whetted the appetite of fans and players because of its rich promise.

As the season’s first major, the Masters is always anticipated with more hope, speculation and hunger than any of the other three, and probably more so this year than ever before.

Former world number one Tiger Woods and defending champion Phil Mickelson, who between them have clinched six of the last 10 Masters titles, are both well short of their best form, leaving the April 7-10 event wide open.

Although neither Woods nor fellow American Mickelson can be discounted as likely contenders, the list of potential winners at Augusta National next week is as long as anyone can recall.

World number two Lee Westwood, third-ranked Luke Donald and big-hitting Dustin Johnson (12th) can all lay claim to being due a maiden major victory and that trio will hold high hopes when they tee off in Thursday’s opening round.

So too will the other reigning major champions; Britain’s Graeme McDowell (US Open), South African Louis Oosthuizen (British Open) and German world number one Martin Kaymer (PGA Championship). And the list does not stop there.

Veterans such as Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen and 2000 champion Vijay Singh, PGA Tour winners like Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, plus a host of younger guns led by Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Ryo Ishikawa, are all capable of flourishing at Augusta National.

Aura of dominance

With Woods having lost the aura of dominance he enjoyed before his stunning fall from grace at the end of the 2009 season, each major now begins with a high proportion of players in the field holding genuine expectations of success.

“With Tiger going through his troubles and whatnot, it’s given the world a chance to view what golf might be like without Tiger,” said Northern Irishman McDowell, who won four tournaments across the globe last year.

“Golf is very healthy and we’ve got some really great, young talent coming through. But getting Tiger Woods back to winning golf tournaments, I think golf needs him back as well.”

Woods, a 14-times major champion who has lifted the prized green jacket on four occasions at Augusta National, has not triumphed anywhere since the 2009 Australian Masters.

His game suffered as he tried unsuccessfully to repair his deteriorating marriage last year while spending less time at practice than usual.

His divorce from his Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, was finalised in August, and that same month he embarked on the fourth swing change of his professional career, with Canadian coach Sean Foley.

“This year, I felt like I’ve played my way into shape,” Woods, 35, said after tying for 24th at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. “I’ve played, I’ve kept progressing.

“Early in the year was disappointing because the conditions showed some signs of weakness that I had to work on. Now, it’s feeling very, very good.” Comfort factor

While Woods goes into next week’s Masters without his customary swagger following his recent barren run of form, he could hardly pick a venue where he feels more comfortable.

He is ideally suited to the par-72 layout, which was stretched to a formidable 7,445 yards for the 2006 Masters, making it the second-longest course in major golf at the time.

Woods still ranks among the longest hitters, has a superbly creative short game and is arguably the best putter of all time from inside 15 feet. He just needs to regain consistency.

Three-times champion Mickelson also relishes playing at Augusta National where his magical short game is a major factor.

“Coming back to Augusta National is such an incredible feeling, knowing that I’ve won the golf tournament, that I’ve had such success there and that I’m part of the history of the Masters,” the left-hander said.

“One of the reasons why I’ve been successful there is that when I drive through the gates, I have this feeling of confidence; that I know how to play the golf course; that I don’t have to play it perfectly; and that the strength of my game, which is short game, can often save or salvage rounds and pars for me and keep me in contention.”

Experience is always a prized commodity at the Masters and Ireland’s McIlroy expects the “usual suspects” to be lurking in the upper reaches of the leaderboard in the final round.

“It takes a while to learn the golf course and it takes a while to feel 100 percent comfortable on it,” he said. “The Masters is always going to be a tournament that everyone in the field feels that they can win, but I think you’ll still see the usual suspects up there on Sunday.”

The former world number one will face Victoria Azarenka in Saturday’s final after the Belarusian defeated third seed Vera Zvonareva 6-0 6-3.

Azarenka reached her second final in Miami after her breakthrough victory in the final here, against Serena Williams, two years ago. The 21-year-old can expect a tough battle against Sharapova, who is looking in top form.

“She is playing well, she is a tough opponent, no matter when or where, I am looking forward to it,” said Azarenka.
“I know how she plays, she knows how I play so it will be a real battle. I haven’t to let her dictate the play, the way she likes.”

After losing the opening set, Sharapova suddenly turned the match around, completely overwhelming her opponent with the kind of devastating form that took her to the top of the world rankings four times between 2005 and 2008.

Petkovic faded quickly and was unable to reproduce the brilliant tennis she uncorked in her wins over the current world number one Caroline Wozniacki and the former rankings leader Jelena Jankovic.

Exploit weakness

Petkovic was troubled by a rib injury but said that was not the reason for her lackluster display against a ruthless Sharapova.
“The champions, they just feel any kind of weakness,” Petkovic said.

“Even if you’re not showing it or you think you’re not showing it, they just feel it. That’s what makes them so much better.

“I really think she felt it and she went for it and she exploited it. That’s what she has to do.”
Sharapova is currently ranked 13th in the world after returning from a long injury layoff but is assured of a place in the top 10 next week.

She has not won a WTA title since Strasbourg in May last year but her health and fitness has been steadily improving and this will be her fourth final since then. The Russian has also previously played in two finals at the Sony Ericsson Open, losing them both.

“I feel like I’m finding my form,” the 23-year-old said.
“I really felt like with many matches and staying healthy that I would feel better and my (fitness) would start coming back to me and my tennis as well.

“I feel that that’s playing out really well.”
Azarenka utterly dominated the first set, winning 82 percent of first service points and leaving Zvonareva covering her face with a towel as her coached talked to her during the interval.

It was a more solid display from the Russian in the second set but she was never truly close to beating Azarenka, who now has a chance for her second title in Miami.

REUTERS