Basketball: Land Marine – Men’s division two |10 December 2022

AB Boys’ Leeroy Toussaint glides past Bullets’ Alvin Marie for an easy two-pointer (Photo: Roland Duval)

AB Boys edge out Cascade Bullets to reach final

Anse Boileau-based AB Boys have reached the final of the Land Marine Cup competition after their narrow 57-55 victory over Cascade Bullets in the semifinal played yesterday at the Victoria Gymnasium.

Initially drawn in pool A alongside PLS Suns, AB Boys grabbed a 58-41 victory to progress to the semifinal as they were the only two teams in the group.

As for the Bullets, they played in group A alongside Mont Fleuri Ballerz, and St Louis Saints.

In their first match, the boys of coach Biko Biong beat Ballerz 65-47, before defeating St Louis Saints 69-42 in their second match to top the group.

AB Boys will now wait for winners of the second semifinal between Anse Royale who won group B after defeating the Bela Air Basketball Academy (Baba) 59-51, and MBU Boys who surprised league champions Anse Etoile 69-59 in group D.

In yesterday’s match, it was Bullets who had the upper hand from the beginning, winning the first quarter 17-14, before AB Boys adjusted their game in the second period of the match to win it 22-14 for a 36-31 half-time advantage.

AB Boys maintained the pressure in the third quarter and despite losing their best player Francesco Boniface following an ankle injury, the Anse Boileau side maintained their composure, winning 13-9, extending their lead to 49-40 at the end of the period.

Also aiming for a spot in the final, Cascade Bullets fought back in the fourth and final quarter, outscoring AB Boys 15-8, but the latter managed to hold on to their slight lead to narrowly win the match 57-55 to book their final spot.

Despite missing the whole of the fourth quarter, Boniface finished as AB Boys’ top scorer with 14 points, while big-man Eddie Servina led the scoring for Bullets with 18 points.

 Roland Duval