Week Three

It was an entertaining and competitive weekend at the 2018 Nigeria Bankers Games.  The day witnessed the commencement of the Indoor games – (Chess, Scrabble, and Table Tennis) and the last group matches of the football event were concluded at Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex.

The event was graced by;

• Charles Omoera – Head, Investment Research and Corporate Strategy, Stanbic IBTC
• Sam Ocheho – Non-Executive Director, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited
• Adeyinka Atilade – Team Lead, Enterprise Servers and Desktop Administration, FCMB
• Eric Iruh – Corporate Nigeria Hall of Famer

Match 1: Sterling Bank 1 v 1 Stanbic IBTC

The first match of the day saw the Sterling Jets take on Stanbic IBTC. The “One Customer” Boys, who lost their last game to Fidelity Bank came with a-must-win football spirit, on the other hand, the Stanbic IBTC team needed to “Move Forward” with a big win to top the group table.

The thrilling and electrifying match saw Sterling Bank begin the match at the forefront, bossing possession and scoring an early goal in the 8^th minute through a well hit shot from Oluwaseun Ajala. Stanbic IBTC however did not relent and poured men forward creating numerous chances but were denied by the frame of the wood work.

In the second half of the match, the Stanbic boys showed their resilience and eventually got an equalizer through Dayo Ogunwole leaving the game 1-goal apiece.

MVP of the match was awarded to Oluwaseun Ajala – Sterling Bank

Match 2: Keystone Bank 0 v 1 FCMB

The final group match of the 2018 NBG witnessed Keystone Bank and FCMB. The Keystone boys were looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat as they played an in-form FCMB side. While Keystone Bank’s game plan was to attack from the onset to secure their first win, FCMB on the other hand were willing to play a defensive game and hit on the counter to also get a win or a draw.

The game was evenly poised for the most part of the match with both teams unable to create clear chances as there was a battle for supremacy in midfield. Keystone Bank came close to breaking the deadlock via a free-kick which was saved by the finger-tips of Elijah Ashafa. FCMB “Raised the Bar” with the only goal of the game which came just before the end of the first half when Babatunde Sontan unselfishly squared the ball past the on-rushing keeper to find Ayodele Atoyebi who ensured his team got all three points.

Man of Match: Opeyemi Ayandeko – FMCB

The Quarter Final fixtures for the football event is out, please find below;

The other events officially kicked off over the weekend with the Tennis event holding at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Court, Lagos Island, while the Chess, Scrabble & Table Tennis event were held at the YabaTech Indoor Hall (Alumni Building).

TENNIS

In the Tennis event, winners of the male and female singles event in the 2017 edition respectively; Ali Chidebere (Fidelity Bank) and Peter Matthew (First Bank), took to the court in defence of their title.

Old guns Atilola Shina, Aliu Lateef (Both of Sterling Bank), Oghechi Iheanacho (Fidelity Bank) and Ali Marayam (Sterling Bank) and others also participated as the pairings proved competitive and was keenly contested.

Ali Chidebere made it to the finals of the female singles category and she will be locking horns this weekend with her fellow compatriot, Ogechi Iheanacho (Fidelity Bank) – the 2016 champion – in a battle for the 2018 gold medal. The male category reached the semi-final stage with usual suspects Peter Matthew (reigning champion), Aliu Lateef and others still in contention for the gold medal.

In the double’s event, the male category got to the quarter final stage while the female category reached its semi-final stage.

INDOOR EVENT – CHESS, SCRABBLE & TABLE TENNIS

In the Table Tennis event, defending champions of the male and female singles event respectively; Solomon Idowu (First Bank) and Achonye Judith (Fidelity Bank), began their title defence competing against tough oppositions in their respective categories.

In the male event, there was a huge upset when Solomon Idowu got eliminated in the second round of play by Sunday Adebayo (FCMB). In the pairings for the semi-final round of the male event, Sunday Adebayo (FCMB) will be face 2017 bronze medallist – Akinwale Omotoye (FCMB) while the age-long rivalry between Femi Ayeni (First Bank) and Fredrick Rekuoya (Sterling Bank) continues in the other pairing.

In the Female category, the dominance of Achonye Judith (Fidelity Bank) continued as Fidelity Bank sustained its ascendancy featuring all four representatives in the semi-final round.

The Chess and Scrabble event also held over the weekend with all banks well represented. Point’s accumulation as usual will be the benchmark for the two competitions. The Chess and Scrabble will be concluded this weekend at the YabaTech Indoor Hall (Alumni Building) Yaba.

Fixtures for this weekend is stated below:

The spectator’s were not left out of the fun as there were different activities lined up for their fun and entertainment and also to give them chances to win prizes. Spectators who engaged in the basketball games and fastest fingers walked away with a variety of prizes.