Basketball Heat accomplish double, B Challenge achieve treble |12 December 2016

Beau Vallon Heat claimed the league and cup double last weekend at the Victoria Gymnasium, while earlier the same day B Challenge completed a first treble after both teams won the SBF Cup knockout tournament.

Men division one champions Beau Vallon Heat have had a great league season and they were aiming to add another trophy to their name with the last tournament of the season, but they knew they were up against a strong and vastly improved Premium Cobras side on Saturday, in a match that largely lived up to expectations.

Present among the fans were Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Idith Alexander, National Sports Council (NSC) chief executive Giovanna Rousseau, sports special advisor Jean Larue and the president of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) Antonio Gopal.

The first quarter was a closely fought affair and served as notice that the league champs were not in for an easy game as the Cobras led 20-19 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.

The second quarter continued at the same pace, with Cobras playing the better basketball with the help of Aloa Solomon and Malagasy Rakotoarisoa, who were both having a great game. At the end of the quarter, Cobras had stretched their lead to six points – 42-36.

Beau Vallon, who so often this season have had great second half to their matches, again proved their strength as they played better in the third quarter. With nine points by Steven André, the Heat finally went ahead to end the third quarter with a 54-52 lead.

It was in the final quarter of the encounter that everything turned on its head. With the Heat holding a slender two-point lead coming back onto the court, it was by no means a guarantee for victory, but coach Guy Hall’s men turned it on. While Cobras were struggling to get the shots on the board, the Heat capitalised on fast breaks to make the most of the game and here Timmy Adam scored 14 of his 22 points as his side outscored their opponents 29-12 to claim a big 83-64 win.

“I think we lost the game in the second half as we did not really worked our game plan,” said Premium Cobras coach Dominic Pillay.

He added: “I don’t think it was tiredness that led us to defeat, but I am quite satisfied as we had a good season, especially since the second round and now with more work I think that next year we can aim to challenge for the league title.”

As for the winning team’s coach, Guy Hall, he said “this is definitely mission accomplished as at the start of the year our vision was to win a double and we have achieved it.”

“We have proved to be difficult to beat in the final quarter of games this year and I think today we have proven that we are unstoppable in the fourth quarter,” coach Hall added.

B Challenge beat HotShots for a treble

In the women’s final, it was to be a battle between B Challenge and HotShots. Billed as a close encounter, it is in fact what was delivered.

After the first quarter, where it took a while for the first shot to dip in, it was B Challenge who took the early lead, ending at 14-12.

With Sheriffa Agathine and Myra Solin, HotShots were the better team in the second quarter and they outscored their opponents 16-12 to go into half-time with 28-26 lead.

B Challenge played the better basketball in the third quarter, scoring 20 points compared to 17 by their opponents and they led 46-45 after 30 minutes.

In the final quarter, with the game still hanging in the balance, it was clear that whoever avoided the most mistakes would be the one taking home the cup and it was B Challenge who prevailed. Cutting down on turnovers and converting their chances, B Challenge scored 16 points past their opponents who could only muster 12 points and thus the Bel Air-based side claimed a 62-57 win.

“We had lost twice in a row against HotShots and this time I made it clear that I did not want to lose for a third time,” said B Challenge coach Michel Malbrook.

“Today I thought it was clear that we really wanted to win and to achieve it is a great accomplishment,” he added.

HotShots coach Phillip Arrisol said: “I think in the final quarter my players did not understand that if we don’t concentrate we would lose and they were too excited and so they made a lot of mistakes which cost us the game.”

Meanwhile, the men’s division two final between Mt Fleuri Ballerz and AB Boys had to be stopped, amazingly with only 56 seconds left on the clock due to heavy rains and will now be replayed this evening. The score at that time was tied at 66-66.

After Saturday’s finals, prizes were handed out to all the winners and the individual best performers

Basketball Hall of Fame

Men division one league champions – Beau Vallon Heat

Men division one league runners-up – PLS Hawks

Men division two league champions – Premium Cobras Youth

Men division two league runners-up – Beau Vallon Buccaneers

Women’s league champions – B Challenge

Women’s league runners-up – HotShots

Curtain Raiser men’s champions – PLS Hawks

Curtain Raiser men’s runners-up – Baya

Curtain Raiser women’s champions – B Challenge

Curtain Raiser women’s runners-up – HotShots

SBF Cup men’s division one champions – Beau Vallon Heat

SBF Cup men’s division one runners-up – Premium Cobras

SBF Cup women’s champions – B Challenge

SBF Cup women’s runner-up – HotShots

Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Male: Timmy Adam (Beau Vallon Heat)

Most Valuable Player (MVP) – Female: Sarah Rose (Mont Fleuri)

Best young male player: Taryll Hall (Beau Vallon Heat)

Second best young male player: Kris Bouchereau (Mont Fleuri Ballerz)

Best young female player: Jinny Dorby (Junior)

Second best young female player: Christel Cecile (Juniors)

Best player in division two: Murvin Aglaé (Espoir)

Second best player in division two – Stan Jean (Premium Cobras Youth)

Male player of the year: Steven Andre (Beau Vallon Heat)

Runner-up male player of the year: Dave Roseline (Baya)

Female player of the year: Winner: Laura Françoise (B Challenge)

Runner-up female player of the year: Agnes Bristol (Mont Fleuri)

Best coach (women’s league): Michel Malbrook (B Challenge)

Best coach (men’s league): Guy Hall (Beau Vallon Heat)

Best table official: Linda Dugasse

Best referee: Daryl Nourrice