TODAY at the indoor hall of the Ilorin Township Stadium, Government Model School, Niger State, will be aiming to dethrone the defending champion, Queen of Rosary Secondary School, Benue State, in the final of the Central Conference of this year's Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship.

In the boys' event, Kwara Government Secondary School believes the title is within its reach as it hosts Niger's Government Secondary School in today's final of the zonal qualifiers.

In the semi-final matches played yesterday, Benue defeated Kwara's Queen Elizabeth Secondary School 36-34, while Niger girls overcame Nasarawa 26-19. Coach Yende Terkimbi of Benue said that retaining the title in the girls' event would not be an easy task following the outstanding performance of the Niger girls in the semis.

"From what we saw the Niger girls play in the semi-final against Kwara, I think we have to raise our game to be able to hold on to the title we won last year," he said. "But I am confident that my girls will not disappoint when it matters most."

Also yesterday in the boys' semis, Kwara boys had to rely on home support to surmount Benue with 35-33 points win to set up a final clash with Niger, which defeated Nasarawa in the second semi-final match. The final holds today while winners in both events automatically qualify for the grand finale in Lagos.