Basketball: Premium Cobras Warm-up Tournament |02 February 2024
Yannick Ernesta and Premium Cobras could face Mont Fleuri Dawgz in the semis in case of progression from group stage (Photo: Roland Duval)
Pre-season competition to set the ball rolling
After being dormant for almost a year, the Victoria Gymnasium will as of today welcome back basketball players and fans for a pre-season ‘Warm-up’ tournament which will bring together six out of the 10 registered clubs from the sport’s top flight.
An initiative of the Premium Cobras club, the tournament, which will begin on a league format, before progressing into the knockout phase, is primarily aimed at reviving basketball which was inactive during 2023, except for the Curtain-raiser tournament, and also to quench the thirst for playing time for active players, as well as to bring back much-awaited entertainment for the fans.
Most of all, it is equally the perfect opportunity for local officials to brush off the rust, both in terms of the game’s rules and regulations, as well as their physical conditions.
The six registered teams for the tournament are Cascade Bullets, Drifters, Premium Cobras (group A), Beau Vallon Heat, Mont Fleuri Dawgz, and AB Boys (group B).
Missing will be PLS Hawks, Anse Etoile, MBU Rockers, and Baya.
Speaking to Sports NATION, Premium Cobras club president Roy Collie said they hope that the tournament will stimulate the Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) to get its house in order as soon as possible, so that much-awaited formal competitions can start.
He said, as a club, Premium Cobras came up with the initiative, not only to give players some playing time, but also to entertain the fans, while motivating the SBF to begin official procedures to elect a new president so that they can set the ball rolling.
It will be Drifters and Cascade Bullets who will tip off the tournament tonight at 5pm in group A, while at 7pm Beau Vallon Heat will play against Mont Fleuri Dawgz in group B.
Tomorrow, hosts Premium Cobras will play against Drifters (group A) at 4pm, while in group B, Beau Vallon Heat will meet AB Boys at 6pm.
The sport’s local governing body has been without direction following the resignation of president Jana Malbrook last year.
Prior to the preparations for the 11th Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) held in Madagascar last year, the SBF hosted only one official competition, namely the annual Curtain-raiser, won by Beau Vallon Heat, who are also the reigning league champions.
Malbrook took the post in November 2022 after being unanimously voted into office during an SBF’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to replace Jean-Guy Alphonse who had been in the position for the previous three years.
Without a president, the other members of the SBF’s executive committee are Adrian Pillay (secretary general), Vali Ismael (treasurer), while Riard Balette, Biko Biong, Cyril Agrippine, Lina Lestrange (head of coaches’ commission), and Tracy Moustache (head of the National Basketball Technical Committee – NBTC) are the ordinary members.
Despite no competitions were held in 2023, the SBF submitted its list of nominees for the traditional the Sports Awards of the Year 2023 which will take place on March 1.
The following are the nominees:
Men’s first place – Khris Bouchereau
Men’s second place – Sebastien Thomas
Men’s third place – Kris Andre
Women’s first place – Guyra Boniface
Women’s second place – Veena Marie
Women’s third place – Michelle Ah-Kong
Young female athlete (first) – Naisha Cafrine
Young female athlete (second) – Kimberly Chang Tak Hue
Young male athlete (first) – Reuben Furneau
Young male athlete (second) – Nathan Gill
Coach of the year – Michel Malbrook
Official of the year – Elyssa Talma
Roland Duval
