Zenith Bank/NBBF Women’s Basketball League Final 8 set for Lagos
Nike Popoola
The 2026 Zenith Bank NBBF Women’s Basketball League enters its defining stage as eight teams converge on the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, from September 28 to October 3, 2026, for the national Finals.
According to a statement from Zenith Bank, Nigeria Customs, AS Sky Queens, Titans, Air Warriors, MFM, First Bank, Victoria Queens and Bayelsa Blue Whales have secured their places in the Final 8 after fiercely contested Atlantic and Savannah Conference campaigns.
The title remains up for grabs following the absence of defending champions Dolphins Basketball Club, who won last year’s competition after defeating First Bank in the final but failed to finish among the top four teams in the Atlantic Conference this year.
First Bank, last year’s finalist and the most successful team in the history of the competition, will enter the Final 8 with a record nine league titles.
MFM will also draw on its recent championship pedigree, having won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.
The Final 8 comes against the backdrop of the growth of the women’s basketball league, which has provided a platform for Nigeria’s female basketball talents to emerge, compete and develop for more than two decades.
Zenith Bank has been the sole sponsor of the National Women’s Basketball League since 2005. Through its partnership with the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), the bank has supported the development of women’s basketball by helping to sustain a competitive platform for talent discovery, development and preparation for higher levels of the sport.
The league has also served as a pathway to Nigeria’s National Women Basketball Team, D’Tigress, with several players who have featured prominently for the country emerging from the domestic competition.
Beyond the national team, the league provides young female athletes with opportunities to develop confidence, skills, discipline and teamwork while building professional sporting careers.
The competition will now shift to Lagos, with the eight participating teams battling for the national title.
For Zenith Bank, its sponsorship of the Women’s Basketball League forms part of its broader commitment to creating platforms that provide opportunities, develop potential and contribute to the lives of young Nigerians.
The bank said this commitment also extends to community development initiatives, including the reconstruction and beautification of Ajose Adeogun Street and Roundabout, the annual Zenith Bank Youth Parade and Light-Up Ceremony, the construction of ICT Centres in tertiary institutions across the country, and the construction of the ultra-modern Iga Iduganran Primary Healthcare Centre.
Through these initiatives and its longstanding support for women’s basketball, Zenith Bank said it continues to focus on creating opportunities and contributing to the development of communities and the next generation.
