The University of Ibadan Basketball Club on Saturday defeated Beavers Basketball Club 21-17  to win the sixth edition of Propella 3×3 Male Open Challenge at Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan.

The NHoop Dreams of Ibadan came third after defeating Better George 21-16.

Speaking after the games, Zakari Momoh, the UI coach, said his players did a bit well in the competition.

Momoh said their opponents were also not a bad team.

“They are quite experienced because they have competed outside Nigeria. In July, my players were in Uganda, and we came fourth at the African qualifiers.

“The competition is a good one and I see improvements yearly, which is commendable. My players are undergraduates, and they tend to forget teachings sometimes.

“Coming for this competition, they didn’t have much time to train together, as this semester is short. It’s just eight weeks. The skills they exhibited today are from what they had acquired over time,” he said.

Tunde Popoola, the convener of the Challenge, also said there had been improvements over the years in both the competition and athletes.

Popoola said he started with teams strictly in Oyo with a limited number of elite players who could perform.

(NAN)