Elisha Ayiku, Head Coach, Ghana Police male volleyball team, said hard work and determination was key to the success of his team in the just concluded Zone 3 Africa Volleyball Club championships in Lagos.
Ghana Police beat Nigeria Customs Service 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-17) in the male match for the second consecutive time since the revival of the championship.
In the third place match, Nigeria Police defeated Nigeria Immigration 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 27-25)
Ayiku told the News Agency of Nigeria after their victory that the team would always be prepared ahead of the Zone 3 Africa Club Championships going by the quality of the players.
He said: “I am excited beating Nigeria for the second time on her home soil.
“If I meet the Nigeria team 20 times, I will beat them 20 times.
“The Ghana Police team has been getting the support of the Commissioner of Police.
“We hope to continue with our form on the African continent.”
Ayiku added that most of the players in the Police team dominate the Ghanaian National Volleyball team and are far advanced in playing together as a solid team.
“The next assignment for most of my players is to qualify for the All Africa Games. We will be back in Nigeria to cement our participation at the games in Morocco,” he said.
Ghana Police defeated all her opponents by 3-0, which Ayiku described as a sign that his team was ready for the Africa Club Championships.
Nigeria Customs started on a high note, but Ghana police came from behind to win the first set, despite the crowd been in support of the home team.
A resolute Ghana team ensured they dictated the pace of the game in the second and third sets and eventually took the day and the championship trophy for the second year running.
Meanwhile, in the third place match, Nigeria Police defeated Nigeria Immigration 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 27-25).
In the women’s category, Nigeria Customs beat Nigeria Immigration Service 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 28-26) to claim the women’s championship first place trophy.
In the third place game of the women’s category, Nigeria Army beat Kada Emeralds 3-1 (2-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-17) for the bronze medals.
The head coach of Nigeria Customs Service, Femi Akani, said: “This success recorded here would not have been possible without the support of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Colonel Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retd).
“We have to take a lot of positive from this results, though we lost in the men’s finals but we gladly took the women’s finals and a testament of hard work and good support from the top.
“Since Colonel Ali’s arrival, the teams have experienced maximum support and brought great developments accordingly.
“To this we are very pleased.
“I want to commend the girls for also playing to instructions against the much experienced Nigeria Immigration.”
Meanwhile, the President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Engr. Musa Nimrod, thanked Zone 3 volleyball executives for allowing Nigeria host the championship for the second time in a row.
Nimrod said the championship is steadily developing volleyball in the West Africa region.
He said: “Since the return of the Zone 3 championships, the level of competitiveness among clubs in the region has improved tremendously.
“In some years to come, the West Africa region will be a force to reckon with by the grace of God.”
The championships began on April 14 and ended on April 18, with no fewer than 11 teams from four countries of the Africa Zone 3 CAVB competing for honours at the University of Lagos Sports Hall, Akoka.