Basketball: Men’s Division two play-offs |10 November 2022

Brendon Belmont and Anse Etoile had to dig deep into their reserves to overcome Cascade Bullets for a spot in the final (Photo: Roland Duval)

Anse Etoile struggle past Cascade Bullets to reach final

Anse Etoile will meet AB Boys in the men’s division two play-offs final after their hard-earned 61-52 victory over Cascade Bullets in the second match of the best-of-three series last night at the Victoria Gymnasium.

Entering yesterday’s match with 1-0 advantage after beating Bullets 51-40 in the first match of the series on Saturday, Anse Etoile showed no sign of dominance over their opponents who were without two of their key players, namely Eddy Servina and top scorer in the league Hansley Bristol.

With Christopher ‘Toto’ Camille back in their line-up and leading the plays, Bullets took control of the match from the get-go, leaving Anse Etoile trailing during most of the first period.

It was only at the end that the players of coach Kenneth Domingue managed to put their game together to win the first quarter 17-15.

In the second period of the match, Bullets maintained their pressure, scoring 19 points, while a destabilised Anse Etoile added 12 more and the first half ended 34-29 in favour of Cascade Bullets.

After a much-needed locker room pep talk from coach Domingue, Anse Etoile tried to change their approach in the third quarter, but again Cascade Bullets did not allow them to breathe with big man Achille Valmont rejecting most of their efforts in offence with some defensive blocks.

However, through some individual efforts from Brendon Belmont and Nigel Cafrine, Anse Etoile managed to score 12 points, compared to nine for Bullets, cutting the latter’s lead to 43-41 at the end of the third period.

More hungry for the second final spot, Anse Etoile improved their game in the fourth and last quarter, outscoring Bullets 20-9 to earn a hard-fought 61-52 victory.

Once again it was Cafrine who had the hot hands for Anse Etoile with 19 points, while Dan Côme led the scoring for Bullets with 15 points.

Anse Etoile will now face Anse Boileau-based AB Boys who swept the other series 2-0 (73-64, 72-59) against Praslin Boys who now meet Bullets in the third-place series and a chance for promotion to play first division basketball next season.

Meanwhile, tomorrow night, the Victoria Gymnasium will host game three of the women’s series between B Challenge and HotShots, along with game three of the men’s division one series between PLS Hawks and Baya.

In the women’s series, B Challenge won game one 56-32, while HotShots won the second match 46-34 to tie the series at one win apiece.

In the men’s division one play-offs, Baya won game one of the series against Hawks 79-75 in extra-time, before Hawks levelled matters in game two with a 75-58 victory.

Roland Duval