Pius Ayinor
First Bank and MFM Women Basketball teams played a nervy, exciting match in the final of the 2026 NBBF/Zenith Bank Basketball League on Saturday at the National Stadium, Lagos. MFM won the elite match 66-64.
The match was played like a championship game every minute, keeping spectators excited from the jump ball to the buzzer.
MFM took the lead at the tip-off but dipped in the fourth, which almost cost them the match. MFM won the first three quarters 11-6, 13-12, and 19-17 before falling 21-13. The game eventually dragged to overtime with the score at 56-56 when the fourth quarter ended.
MFM players won the Most Valuable Player award, the best three-point shooter prize, and they also grabbed two spots in the Top Five Team.
Idubamo Pius was named the league’s MVP. She shot a game-high 19 points in the championship game that made her an easy pick for the spectators.
Her teammate Wandoo Hembam won the Best Three-Point Shooter award. Hembam and Idubamo Pius were both named in the competition’s best five.
The All-Star Five also included Favour Anari of ASO Sky, First Bank’s Marylyn Ogbeide, and Nigeria Customs’ Nkem Akaraiwe, who also got the tournament’s highest-scorer award.
ASO Sky’s Kasi emerged as the competition’s Best Rebounder.
Nigeria Customs won the third-place game, beating ASO SKY Queens 51-38 points for the bronze medal.
MFM and First Bank will represent Nigeria in the FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifiers for the 2026 Africa Women’s Basketball League, with the continental tournament scheduled for December 11–20 in Alexandria, Egypt.
AWARDS:
MVP
Idubamo Pius – MFM
Highest scorer
Nkem Akaraiwe – Customs
Highest 3 points
Wandoo Hembam
Top Rebounder
Kasi – Aso sky
Savannah Conference champion
Customs Basketball.
Atlantic Conference champion
MFM Basketball
Tournament Top 5
Wandoo Hembam
- Idubamo Pius
- Favour Anari
- Marylyn Ogbeide
- Nkem Akaraiwe
Winners
MFM
Runners-up
First Bank
Third Position
Nigeria Customs
