Abuja – Kano Pillars male basketball club on Monday in Abuja beat Plateau Peaks of Jos 93-56 as the Savannah Conference Final Six Play-offs of the 2016 DStv Premier Basketball League commenced.

The play-offs scheduled for Monday to Friday is holding at the Abuja National Stadium.

Kano Pillars led in the first quarter of the match 28-8, and won the second quarter 20-17 to stay comfortably ahead in the math by half time.

Pillars won the third quarter 18-9 against Plateau Peaks, and closed the game with 27-22 in the final quarter.

Speaking after the match, Jaclyn Nyagwan, the coach of Plateau Peaks, told NAN after the match that in spite of their defeat her players performed well.

“Though in every game a winner and a loser must emerge, but I must say our players did well because they played against a very experienced team.

“We should all remember that they have been defending champions for eight years, before last year when Mark Mentors won. So, I know that my boys can do better in the future.

“These boys will do better in the nearest future, because from the match we can see the speed they have,” she said.

On his part, Sani Ahmed, the coach of Kano Pillars, also told NAN that his players did their best and it was good they won in their first match.

He praised the way they executed plans as they were instructed.

“This is the first game of the Super Six and my boys did well and they executed just like they were told to do.

“Naturally there are some lapses here and there, but it is part of the game. You make mistakes in order to correct them before the next game.

“I do know that definitely by the grace of God we will be there, because we have been working with these boys, especially some of them, for the past four to five years.

“As a coach you have to understand their chemistry for things to work, even though we’ve added new players into the team. This is what has taken us to where we are today,” Ahmed said.

NAN reports that the top four teams in the play-offs will qualify for the final eight competition scheduled for Lagos later in the year.

Other clubs in the Final Six are Gombe Bulls, Niger Potters, Bauchi Nets and Mark Mentors, with three matches slated for play daily till Friday.