Gateway SC emerge champions of NSF Inter Club Championship

Posted : 19 April 2025

The new entrant into club Scrabble in Nigeria, Gateway SC of Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, South West Nigeria, has been crowned the champion of the most celebrated and prestigious club competition – the NSF Inter Club Challenge.

Under the captaincy of experienced Masters player, Cyril Umebiye, Gateway SC, with its finest group of youthful and talented Scrabble gems, took the surprise package of the Inter Club finals, Yenagoa SC, to the cleaners with a 4-1 victory and a cumulative score of +1204.

The team notched 20 wins from 25 games. Current Continental Champion, Oluwatimilehin Doko, recorded an impressive 5 wins and a cumulative score of +618, while Abdulmumin Jimoh, a member of Team Nigeria at the 13th African Games and the African Scrabble Championship, earned 5 wins and a cumulative score of 591.

The youngest member of Gateway SC, David Ojih, and Hakeem Ogundokun each dropped one game. Ojih finished with a cumulative score of +177, 116 points more than Ogundokun. Captain Cyril Umebiye lost 3 out of 5 games and finished with a score of -243.

Bright Ohaka, Doubra Enai, Precious Igali, Vincent Munanyo, and Ezekiel Eniekebi of Yenagoa SC each managed one win, with Ezekiel Eniekebi having the highest cumulative points deficit of -350, which was 4 points more than Vincent Munanyo, who had -336.

Gateway SC took the first two matches with identical scores of 4-1, lost the third match 3-2, and secured the title in the fourth match with an emphatic 5-0 win. The same scenario repeated itself in the final match.

Captain of Gateway SC, Cyril Umebiye, told newsmen that their victory in the championship was due to excellent team management and a nearly perfect support system put in place by the proprietor and chairman of the Ijebu-Ode-based club.

“The chairman, Adekoyejo Adegbesan, ensured that the team was well taken care of financially, with provisions for feeding, accommodation, travel, and other logistics, so that we could focus on our main mission of playing the game we love and cherish,” Cyril Umebiye said.

Core members of Gateway SC are in their 20s, and Umebiye says the sky is not their limit. They hope to engrave their names, and that of the club, in Scrabble history and the Scrabble Hall of Fame.

Host club, Benin City SC, finished third at the expense of Central Scrabble Club A of Abuja, captained by Francis Molokwu.

It is interesting to note that a key member of the club, the current African and West African ‘King’ Oluwatimilehin Doko, played a positive role in helping Team Ogun win the team championship at the Asaph Zadok National Championship, which began the week-long Scrabble Festival, proudly supported by the Edo State Sports Commission.

Sir Anthony Ikolo, head coach of the national team, speaking at the end of the competition, stated that young David Ojih of Gateway SC and David Yuwa of Central Scrabble Club A were the standout players of the Inter Club finals.

Here are the top 3 standings at the end of the NSF Festival:

Asaph Zadok Individual Event:

George Ezinore – Edo State

Larry Ituwa – Rivers State

Samuel Adebola – Ogun State

Asaph Zadok Team Event:

Ogun State

Lagos State

Abuja – FCT

Inter Club Championship:

Gateway SC – Ogun State

Yenagoa SC – Bayelsa State

Benin City SC – Edo State

George Ezinore was awarded the NSF Green Jacket as the winner of the Asaph Zadok National Championship by the Chairman of the Edo State Sports Commission, Honourable Desmond Enabulele, who was represented by the Chairman of Chairmen of the Edo Sports Associations, Barrister Walter Imoedemhe.

Honourable Desmond Enabulele was pleased with the competition and promised to continue supporting the Federation and the State Scrabble Association.

The Chairman rewarded George Ezinore, winner of the NSF Green Jacket, with the sum of 100,000 naira.

Gateway SC emerge champions of NSF Inter Club Championship

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