Basketball-Seychelles win elusive gold medal |13 August 2011

Silver medallists in 1993, French coach Dominique Gueret’s team entered the final as favourites after eliminating champions Reunion in the semifinal on Wednesday.

Yesterday’s final started on a very high tempo as both teams adopted an aggressive approach, both in offence and defence. With only five minutes played in the first quarter, Amadou Sylla was already on his third personal foul and had to be replaced by Neddy ’Oye’ Fanchette.

Several calls by the officials that were not in favour of the local side threatened to turn the match in a different direction as the fans in the packed arena began to show signs of hostility.

Nevertheless, things got back to normal and Seychelles narrowly won the opening quarter 18-6.

The consecutive treys from Steven Servina, captain Cyril Agrippine and Reggie Ah-kong early in the second quarter gave Seychelles a nine-point – 34-25 – lead which was instantly cut by the Mahorais who brought the score to 34-32. The two teams then managed to score a basket apiece, ending the quarter on 36-33 score.

Mayotte stepped up their game in the third quarter to cut down on Seychelles’ slight advantage and they managed to take the lead at 37-36 early in the period.

It was a tightly contested third quarter with the Mahorais in the driving seat all throughout, before a dazzling two-handed dunk by Abdel Sylla concluded the period 45-43 in favour of Seychelles.

Like the previous three quarters, the fourth was tightly contested and the lead changed hands. With only 2 minutes and 52 seconds (2:52) remaining and the Mahorais heading towards the gold medal with a six-point advantage – 60-54 – Abdel sylla turned the match around with two consecutive baskets and a free-throw, cutting the lead to a single point.

With 1:19 left on the clock, Amadou Sylla came off the bench to add two points, bringing the score to 65-63. With only 4.7 seconds remaining Agrippine was at the free-throw line and he scored one out of two, bringing the score to 66-63. In the dying seconds, the cheering crowd went wild as Abdel Sylla scored two more points to conclude the 68-63 win, giving Seychelles its first ever IOIG basketball gold medal.

Reunion have been awarded the bronze medal after Madagascar decided to exit the competition in the semifinal.
Meanwhile, in the woman’s final, Madagascar outscored Reunion 70-54 to retain their title. Mauritius won the bronze medal after defeating Seychelles 74-46 in the third place match.

Seychelles head coach Dominique Gueret: “From day one, I told the players I am here to win. They understood and gave their maximum on the court throughout the competition. Today’s victory is for the players who played with their heart tonight. It is a reward for their hard work and good fighting spirit. They never let go even if we were losing. We knew that the match was going to be hard, so the players were prepared both mentally and physically.”

Seychelles captain Cyril Agrippine: “The Games’ gold medal is something I have been chasing since 1998. This is my fourth IOIG and I am so happy and emotional that I have managed to achieve my goal on home soil. I would like to thank all those who helped me in one way or another to be where I am today.  Special thanks go to coach Roy Noel and the Mont Fleuri Neutrons team who introduced me to basketball.”

Man-of-the-match Abdel Sylla: “The gold medal is the result of hard work, togetherness and good team spirit. We were bonded together as a real team and we supported each other. The loyal supporters also played a major role in our success and I would like to thank them. Today’s victory is also the result of collective work. It is party time now and we need to celebrate”.

Seychelles: Cyril Agrippine, Darren Lesperance, Steven Servina, Daniel Victor, Nigel Sinon, Reggie Ah-Kong, Bernard Bristol, Robert Léon, Neddy Fanchette, Abdel Sylla, Amadou Sylla and Dominique Pillay.
Head coach Dominique Gueret, assistant coaches Clifford Joubert and Michel Malbrook.

Mayotte: Saouti Issonati, Rifiki Said, Midjidani Aboubacar, Amamadi Hamza, Madi Aboubacar, Faiz Soubra, Keldy Mohamed, Soimadou Toihirdine, Daniel Mohamed, Ahmed Said Saliti, Idris Said and Insa Soufou.
Head coach Mohamed Houdi Djamal.

R. D.