Basketball: Round robin tournament finals Beau Vallon Heat, Mont Fleuri, Premium Cobras B winners |28 August 2018

The round robin tournaments came to an end on Saturday at the Palais des Sports with victory for Mont Fleuri (women), Premium Cobras B (men’s division two) and Beau Vallon Heat (men’s division one).

The first match-up of the afternoon was between Premium Cobras B and Cascade Bullets in the men’s division two final.

It proved to be a closely contested match with both teams playing tough defence and scoring as the score remained close.

In the end, Premium Cobras B won the match 50-47 to be crowned men’s division two winners.

The women’s match was also won on a three-point difference by Mont Fleuri who earned a 53-50 victory against HotShots.

After getting a bye straight into the semifinal, HotShots seemed a worthy opponent in the final against Mont Fleuri who had edged B Challenge 42-40 in the only semifinal match.

Mont Fleuri ended up being the victor of the competition by winning the match on a 53-50 score.

The third game of the day ‒ the men’s division one final between Beau Vallon Heat and Premium Cobras – was watched by a big crowd and it was Heat’s Steven André who scored the first two points only for Amadou Sylla to finish off a three-point play for the Cobras.

Heat’s centre Timmy Adam, who finished with 28 points, got the fans on the edge of their seats in the first quarter with two dunks in a matter of seconds but the Cobras were ahead 22-17 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.

Heat’s coach Roy Noël got his team to focus on defence in the second quarter which featured five lead change, but at half-time the score was tied at 41-41 after Christian Kabasele hit a 3-pointer seconds before the referees sent the two teams to the locker room.

The third quarter opened with Heat’s Kabasele scoring a 3-pointer and Premium Cobras’ Malagasy playmaker Andry Danz responded with one of his own. However it was the Heat who stayed in the lead for most of the third quarter and they went for the short break with a seven-point – 65-58 – advantage.

The Heat intelligently ran down the clock on every possession in the fourth quarter and they ran out 94-85 winners.

An overjoyed Heat coach Roy Noël explained that the key to winning the game was putting defensive pressure on their opponents.

“We had to keep pressure on some Premium Cobras’ players. Therefore, we had to work hard on the defensive end. For the league, we need to strengthen our squad because Premium Cobras will also be making new additions to their team. So we’ll need to catch up,” said coach Noël.

As for Premium Cobras coach Dominic Pillay, he explained that the players lost their focus towards the end of the match, but added that overall it was a good game.

“The opponents capitalised on our weak points which were crucial to them getting the victory. But overall, it was an entertaining match and I congratulate Beau Vallon Heat on their win,” said coach Pillay.

He further added that the next step for the team is to get back to work in preparation for the league campaign.

R. R.