Basketball: Men’s division one and women’s play-offs |14 November 2022

Hawks’ Ronald Rakotondriambeloma beats Baya’ Allan Baron to the hoop (Photo: Roland Duval)

PLS Hawks, B Challenge clinch last two final berths

The final scene for the men’s division one and women’s play-offs finals have been set, after PLS Hawks and B Challenge won matches number three on Friday to secure the last two final berths after their best-of-three series were stretched to the limit against Baya and HotShots respectively.

In the men’s division one play-offs, Hawks overcame Baya 54-47, while in the women’s match, B Challenge defeated HotShots 55-45 to reach the finals.

Hawks will now play Beau Vallon Heat, while B Challenge will face Anse Etoile Stars in the best-of-three finals.

To reach the finals, Hawks finished second on the classification table, while Baya were ranked third.

Baya won the first match of the semifinal series 79-75 in extra-time, before Hawks leveled matters in game two, winning 75-58.

In match three on Friday, both teams began on a slow pace, with the score reading 11-9 in favour of Hawks at the end of the first quarter.

Despite the huffing and puffing from both sides for a real advantage, the scoring remained low in the second quarter with Hawks scoring another 15 points, while Baya added 12 more, ending the first half 26-21 in favour of the former.

The scoring remained low in the third quarter which had by then turned very physical, with some nasty fouls, along with several bad callings by the officials.

Baya suffered a huge blow mid-way through the third quarter when they lost Beejay Bertin who had to be carried off the court with a knee injury, following a nasty foul play by Hawks’ Malagasy player Ronald Rakotondriambeloma, which was seen as a simple collision by the match officials, allowing play to carry on.

At the end of the quarter, Hawks scored 13 points, compared to 12 for Baya, concluding the third period 39-33, with Hawks in the lead.

Still believing in a victory and a spot in the final, Baya stepped up their game in the final quarter, but individual mistakes, including missing free-throws and failed passes let them down, allowing Hawks to hold on to their lead, after scoring 15 points, with Baya dropping in14.

Hawks won the match 54-47.

Rakotondriambeloma and Rodney Lozé both scored 12 points to lead the scoring for Hawks, while Okafor Ebuka was Baya’s top scorer with 10 points.

Game one of the series’ finals will take place on Thursday, starting at 5.30pm at Victoria Gymnasium.

In the women’s semifinals, B Challenge won the first match of the series 56-32, before HotShots won the second match 46-34 to equal the series.

In game three on Friday, both teams were aware of their equal chances for a spot in the final and started the match on a cautious pace with HotShots boasting a slight 9-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Similar to the first quarter, both B Challenge and HotShots threw everything into the match, with only a single point separating them at the end of the second quarter – 16-15 – in favour of the latter, concluding the first half 25-23 in favour of HotShots.

The turning point in the match was in the third quarter when B Challenge of coach Michel Malbrook shifted into a stronger gear, outscoring HotShots 17-5 for a 40-30 lead at the end of the period.

In the fourth and final quarter HotShots pushed forward to try and close up on B Challenge but the latter managed to hold on to their 10-point advantage, concluding the quarter on a 15-15 tie, allowing B Challenge to win the match 55-45.

Guyra Boniface was B Challenge and the match’s top scorer with 21 points, while Sharifa Agathine led the scoring for HotShots with 16 points.

Game one of the women’s play-offs series final will take place tomorrow, starting at 5.50pm at Victoria Gymnasium.

Roland Duval