LPRC Oilers of Liberia and
Kano Pillars of Nigeria have qualified to represent FIBA Africa Zone 3 at this year's African Club Championship. The Oilers joined the unbeaten Kano Pillars with a 63-56 points win over Braves from Ghana on the last day of the competition.
With the big win, the Liberian league champion finished the Zone 3 elimination round
with a 4-1 record to place second behind Kano Pillars.
Nigeria's second
representative Union Bank basketball club finished third with a 3-2
record, Braves placed fourth with a 2-3 record while Liberia's other representative NPA Pythons waited until the last
day of the qualifier to record it only win against Young Sportman Club
of Sierra Leone (54-49) to finish fifth thus leaving the Sierra Leonean
at the bottom of the six-team elimination series.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. Kano Pillars (Qualified)
2. LPRC Oilers (Qualified)
3. Union Bank
4. CEPS Braves
5. NPA Pythons
6. Young Sportman Club
Braves have remained the best basketball team in Ghana for over a decade with their dominance of the Accra league. They're currently in Liberia participating in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 Club Championship Qualifiers. A competition held by FIBA Africa for the best basketball clubs in their respective countries annually.
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| Braves practice in Accra prior to the tournament |
Six teams from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria showed up for this year's qualifiers of which the top two will represent the zone in the FIBA Africa Club Championships later in the year.
The competition is being ran in a round-robin format. Braves are currently second on the table (after winning 2 of their 3 games) behind Kano Pillars who remain unbeaten. They won their first game against the Pythons(Liberia) 68-34, lost the second one against Kano Pillars(Nigeria) 59-84 and won the third against YSM(Sierra Leone) 66-44.
The tournament continues today for Braves who have two more games to play against Union Bank(Nigeria) today at 4 pm local time and the last game against LPRC Oilers(Liberia) tomorrow.
Reports that the team's best player Dodzie Baniba was injured were confirmed by the team's manager Benjamin Baafi. "Yes, that was in the second game, but he's fine and is managing to play now" He answered on phone from Monrovia. "The guys are really making Ghana Basketball proud. They're playing very well and their composure is on point" He added.
Ben Bentil landed in the USA three years ago and went straight to Haverford school in Haverford, PA. The 6'8'', 225 pounds Ghanaian born forward now of Middletown (DE) St. Andrew’s (calss of '14) has decided to go to Providence College; he tweeted on Monday.
Adam Zagoria of SNY wrote on his blog after Bentil's decison:
''This is a nice pickup for head coach Ed Cooley after he and his staff missed out on Expessions Elite forward Abdul Malik Abu, who picked N.C. State over Providence, UConn and Florida.
Bentil is a powerful four man who can transition into a three.
He joins 7-1 center Paschal Chukwu and 6-7 wing Jalen Lindsey in Providence’s increasingly strong 2014 class.
“Ben Bentil is the perfect complement to Paschal Chukwu,” longtime New York recruiting expertTom Konchalski told SNY.tv. “He’ll be his enforcer. He defines the term power forward. He has a great body, very athletic. he’s got to flesh out his skillset. Right now he’s not a very skilled offensive player but he can rebound, he can defend, and he’s getting a 7-1 center. He’s the perfect complement to Chukwu. They’ll be a great inside tandem because he gives them what the other guy doesn’t have.
“He works extremely hard, he’s one of the hardest working players out there,” Bentil’s AAU coach, Terrell Myers, previously told SNY.tv.
“He can shoot the ball extremely well. He’s become a better passer. It’s him defending the perimeter. Being more of a defensive player on the perimeter at 6-8. That’s one of the thing she’s going to have to do at the next level. He’s a four-three, but as he develops I think he’s going to be a three because he’s a tough kid that doesn’t mind defending.
“He came over here as a raw five and you can see the work he’s put in in three years. With him working, I think he’s going to be a three for somebody’s team and really helping out.”''
