Team Bayelsa has continued its impressive outing at the ongoing South-South zonal elimination for the maiden National Intermediate Games in Calabar, Cross River State.
The elimination, which is for team sports, will produce teams that will feature in the national finals scheduled for the first quarter of 2027 in Lagos.
In football, Bayelsa men’s team played 1-1 with Rivers State in the opening match. Jude Onisoya scored for Bayelsa before Rivers got a late equaliser.
Bayelsa held Delta to a 0-0 draw in the second game. Delta had earlier beaten host Cross River 4-1. To qualify for the main Games, Bayelsa needs to beat Cross River in the third game.
In Abula, both male and female teams of Bayelsa secured qualification. The female team beat Cross River and Rivers but lost to Delta to finish second, while the male team won all three games to finish first.
In basketball, the female team also qualified by finishing second. The team beat Cross River 42-19 but lost 29-30 to Delta who finished first.
In beach volleyball, the male team qualified after defeating Rivers 2-1 and Akwa Ibom 2-0. The female team could not qualify for the main Games.
In volleyball, the female team finished ahead of Delta with three wins from three matches, while the male team failed to qualify.
In handball, Bayelsa secured qualification in both male and female categories. The female team defeated Rivers 8-2, while the male team beat Delta 20-17.
The Head Coach of the Bayelsa team, Jeffrey Osas Omoruyi, praised the girls for their determination and dexterity during the zonal eliminations.
Team Bayelsa has now qualified for Abula men and women, beach volleyball men, volleyball women, handball men and women, and basketball women.
The final round of matches comes up today, September 13, 2026, as the zonal elimination enters its final lap.
