Volleyball (Review)
By Babatunde Ogunrinde
Lagos, April 23, 2018 (NAN) Isaac Oppong, the Coach of Ghana Police Volleyball team, says that his team retained the Zone 3 Africa Volleyball Championships (CAVB) through determination.
“I pleased the competition had gone very well for us and that we took the final prize.
“We are happy about our achievement, it was a very competitive event and we are proud to be champions at the end.
“We could not have done it but for our determination and great strength in working hard for ourselves while playing together as a team,’’ Oppong told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as the competition ended on Sunday.
“We also had a mixture of young players and the very experienced ones who have seen it all in volleyball and who formed the core areas of leadership on the courts.
“We thank Nigeria for the competition and hope the coming competitions will favour us like this one.’’
The Ghana side proved the best team in the competition when they defeated all oppositions to retain their championship trophy won in 2017.
The competition undoubtedly brought the best out of the participating teams that came in from Ghana, Niger, Republic of Benin and host Nigeria.
The competition took place at the Volleyball Courts of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos from April 13 to April 20 and saw fans troop in daily, enjoying every moment the players gave to showcase their qualities.
Ghana police overpowered all contenders, including Nigeria Customs by 3-0 at 25-22, 25-22 and 30-28 at the final of the tournament.
In the women’s category, Nigeria Customs proved too hot to handle as they swept pass Ghana Police by 3-0 at 25-18, 25-17 and 25-13 to clinch the championship trophy.
The highlight of the final day ceremony included the presentation of trophies and certificates to the winners and the countries that participated in the one week international tournament.
Esther Dusu of Nigeria Custom, whose years in volleyball spans over 25 years, was awarded the Most Valuable Female Player, while for Ghana Police Service, Richard Amanor won the Most Valuable Male Player.
Evaluating the tournament, the President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Musa Nimrod, congratulated the winners and rated the performances of the clubs, officiating and other areas very high.
He said the competition had been solely sponsored by the federations and called for corporate sponsorship of the tournament in the next edition.
He told NAN that having become the president of the federation he was determined to bring volleyball back to its glory days by organising competitions.
“I am so proud of the quality of the competition, the participating teams proved their worth and gave the fans the best they can get anywhere in the world of volleyball.
“New players have been given a chance to showcase their talents, while the ageing ones also used the opportunity to signal the end to an era of their career.
“We are proud of what we have been able to achieve in just a little time such as the national volleyball league which is currently on break now.
“We are determined to do more and we call on lovers of the sport to come and invest by sponsoring our major tournaments,’’ Nimrod said.
Amaka Mirrinda, Captain of Legacy Club of Lagos, the third place winners, told NAN that the competition had brought out the best in the players because it was of international standard.
“The competition had brought the best out of many players who have been yearning for playing time, especially in Nigeria.
“We hope to do better next time, especially discovering some grey areas in the team that we need to seriously work on,’’ she said.
Another veteran player, Jalmet Ladi of Nigeria Customs, who has been involved in playing at national and international levels for 25 years also commended the organisers.
“I am happy about the competition, I give a lot of credit to the organisers for their efforts, indeed, it is a worthy event.
“Although, I am close to retirement now but I can only wish the best for the younger generations,’’ she said.
NAN reports that other teams include, Legacy Club of Lagos who also won the female and male third place trophy.
Super Force of Niger, Entete VBC of Benin representing the male team and Energie of Benin played in the female category.
The teams proceed to the Republic of Benin for another round of the competition. (NAN)
BAO/AAB/PDE
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(Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Peter Ejiofor)