11th Indian Ocean Islands Games: Men’s and women’s basketball |30 August 2023

‘Gazza’ going airborne against Mauritius (Photo: Roland Duval)

Seychelles men’s selection cruise past Mauritius in opening match

•              Women’s team out after second defeat

The men’s basketball selection yesterday won their opening group B match against Mauritius, booking a place in the semifinals since the latter had already lost their first match against Mayotte – the third team in the group.

As for the Seychelles women’s selection, they are out of the competition after collecting a second defeat in the group stage.

In yesterday’s match at the Palais des sports of Mahamasina, the players of coach Michel Malbrook dominated their opponents all throughout the match, winning the first quarter 12-8.

Having spotted Mauritius’ weak points, Team Seychelles with the likes of Timmy ‘Gazza’ Adam, Sebastien Thomas and Arnaud Arissol kept the pressure on the Mauritians in the second quarter of the match, winning it 23-16 for a comfortable 35-24 lead at half-time.

In the third quarter, Seychelles scored 14 more points, compared to nine for Mauritius to extend their lead to 49-33 at the end of the period.

Despite being in the lead, Seychelles kept pressuring their opponents, while coach Malbrook decided to play his bench, giving everyone a taste of that victory.

Seychelles scored 18 more points in the fourth and final quarter, compared to 10 for Mauritius, concluding the match with a comfortable 67-43 victory.

They will face Mayotte in their second group match today.

In contrast to the men, the women’s selection yesterday suffered their second defeat in the group stage, losing 27-82 against Maldives.

In their first group match, the Seychelles selection coached by Lennon Sherman lost 21-109 to Reunion.

Roland Duval