Basketball: League Championship-Premium Cobras, AE Stars champs |26 September 2006

The Stars needed to win by a six-point margin against Bel Air and they did it by an even bigger advantage – 11 – thanks to their 49-38 victory to be crowned champions on the head-to-head rule after both teams finished the championship tied on 22 points (10 wins and two defeats apiece in 12 games).

Having won the first-round match-up 47-42, Bel Air knew that Anse Etoile Stars would come out strong, but probably they did not imagine how aggressive coach Michel Malbrook’s players would be for the decisive encounter.

Unable to get off the blocks, Bel Air trailed 2-13 at the end of the first quarter and 13-27 at half-time as the Stars, playing without a playmaker, distanced themselves from their opponents with accurate outside shooting – Dinah Louis scoring three 3-pointers for nine of her 12 points and Simone Asba hitting two treys despite playing with a torn calf muscle.

Hurt in their ego, Bel Air doubled their determination and got a combined 11 points from veteran captain Thyra Boniface and Patricia Samynadin to outscore Anse Etoile Stars 14-7 in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to seven points – 34-27.

When Bel Air started turning the ball over like in the first half and centre Lindy Aglaé missing easy lay-ups although she top-scored in the match with 15 points, the Stars went on a 12-2 run with Lucia Souffe netting eight consecutive points to bring the score to 44-29.
The closest Bel Air got was at 10 points – 44-34 and 46-36 – but as time ticked away they failed to pressure the Stars who celebrated victory.

Having achieved their goal of winning their 14th championship crown in 16 seasons, the Stars, who dethroned Bel Air as women’s champions last year with two matches to spare, are now aiming to defend their Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Cup to achieve another League and Cup double.

PLS Hawks v Premium Cobras

Opening the match with two treys from Ugandan Stephen Omony and Seychellois playmaker Thomas Collie for a 6-0 lead, PLS Hawks showed their intention of working their way to an 11-point margin win against main rivals Premium Cobras to defend the Men’s division 1A League title.

But when Premium Cobras’ captain James Beier equalised at 6-6 on a slam dunk, PLS Hawks just could not follow the momentum, losing 63-69.

On another fantastic slam in the ninth minute when being defended by Omony, Beier brought the score to 21-12 in Premium Cobras’ favour but the Ugandan responded with a 3-pointer and a baseline jumper to narrow the gap at 21-17 after the first 10 minutes of play.

Using a 9-2 run to distance themselves from their opponents and with Lenny ‘Bad’ Aglaé blocking airborne Omony who was attempting a 16th minute slam dunk, Premium Cobras went for the break with a healthy 15-point (40-25) advantage.

Opting for a tight and scrambling defence and getting the ball in the paint, PLS Hawks worked their way back into the game and on an Omony 29th minute lay-up, they came to within six points (49-43) of equalising. But up came Tanzanian Abdallah ‘Dulla’ Ramadhan with a long trey with two seconds left on the clock to send Premium Cobras into the fourth quarter with an eight-point (52-43) lead.

All attempts by PLS Hawks to try and pull level was countered by Premium Cobras who held on to win. Winners of all four encounters against PLS Hawks so far this season, Premium Cobras had five players in double digits – ‘Dulla’ 17 points including two 3-pointers, Brian Morel 14 points including two treys, Reuben Kolawole 11, Beier 10 and Aglaé 10. As for PLS Hawks, they were led in scoring by Omony with a game-high 23 points, while stand-in centre Rodney Lozé was their only other player in double figures with 14 points.

As the players and members of management shook hands after the final whistle, a section of the crowd threw bottles on to the court right in front of police officers who watched and did nothing.

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What they said:

Michel Malbrook (Anse Etoile Stars’ coach): “It has been a tough season following a ban imposed on us by the SBF not to compete in all international competitions and one of my players (Lindy Mathiot) banned lately for not attending national team training. We had to win by a six-point margin and my players responded to the challenge. They worked hard and displayed the will to win. I have to congratulate them. We are now looking at winning the Top-of-the-Table competition and the SBF Cup.”

Jude Talma (Premium Cobras’ coach): “It has been fantastic up to now. We are unbeaten against PLS Hawks this year and to win the championship with Premium Cobras in my first season as coach is something good. The success has come not only from coaching. There’s unity on the team and as coach I don’t believe in a one-man show. I listen to everyone’s suggestions and build the team’s success on the positive contributions. I also have to thank the team’s management for its hard work. Today (Sunday) we slowed down the pace of the game to run down the clock and it worked. PLS Hawks needed to win big and they needed to have the ball in their hands. But we stopped them. Now we are going for the double.”

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Other results
Baya beat RC Dynamics 77-50 (Men’s division 1A)
SMB Razorbacks beat Angels 86-70 (Men’s division 1A)
Bel Air Blazers beat Beau Vallon Heat 71-62 (Men’s division 1B)
LM Chasers beat Mont Fleuri Dawgz 66-28) (Men’s division two)
LMS Jazz beat LMS Youth 87-42 (Men’s division two)

G.G