Abuja – Gombe Bulls male basketball club on Tuesday in Abuja defeated Mark Mentors 64-46 at the ongoing Savannah Conference Final Six Playoffs of the DStv Premier Basketball League.

The playoffs which began on Monday at the Abuja National Stadium will end on Friday.

The first quarter saw Gombe Bulls taking charge to lead 12-11, and were more dominant in the second quarter with a 16-5 haul.

With a 28-16 lead at the end of the first half, the Gombe Bulls did not let off and won 19-15 and 17-15 in the final two quarters.

Adeka Daudu, the coach of Mark Mentors, told NAN after the match that it was a good game in spite of the loss.

He said the defending champions were building up, due to the fact that the team lost most of their players at the end of last season.

“It was a good game, even though the team is building up since we lost 85 per cent of our players after the last season. But it was good game.

“Though it’s been tough for us, but the boys have done a good job getting this far because it is not easy playing against the Bulls.

“Because the team is deep. They have a lot of experienced players who have been featuring in the league for several years.

“But today is gone and we are looking up to tomorrow to make some adjustments. I believe we will fight back, ” Daudu said.

On his part, Mohammed Abdulrahman, the coach of Gombe Bulls, said it was great for his team to win two straight matches.

“It is great to win two games, as everybody is trying to pick one of the slots to go to Lagos for the Final Eight, because there are just four slots at stake.

“We have six great teams here. So, if we win our second game that means we have one leg to Lagos. So, it is great to win.

“Mentors are the defending champions, but regardless of who is there, they are a great team, great competitors and regardless of experience or not,” Abdulrahman had said.

The top four from the Savannah Conference would face the top four from the Atlantic Conference in Lagos.