17 June 2008
SEYCHELLES : Premium Cobras shoot to the top, PLS Hawks bounce back
FRESH from their come-from-behind 89-86 win over defending champions PLS Hawks, Premium Cobras shot to the top of the Men’s Division One standings over the weekend at Victoria Gymnasium.
It is only after this coming weekend’s match between PLS Hawks and Baya that coach Guy Hall’s team will know if they have held on to top spot. A win for Baya will see them move back into first place because they won against Premium Cobras, while a victory for PLS Hawks will be to Premium Cobras’ advantage because of their first-round win against the champions.
Premium Cobras 95 … RC Dynamics 53
The main mover in Premium Cobras’ win against the Hawks, as he almost single-handedly destroyed them, Nigerian Alao Solomon did not come anywhere to repeating the 52-point performance of the previous weekend but he still led his teammates in scoring with 35 points, including three 3-pointers.
Seychelles’ forward Dominique Pillay was the second best scorer with 12 points for the
former champions who won all four quarters – 15-11, 31-15, 33-14 and 14-13 – on their way to the top with 17 points after eight wins and a loss.
RC Dynamics, who conceded their fifth defeat in nine games, got 16 points from Kenneth Domingue and 15 from Jean-Paul Desaubin.
PLS Hawks 95 … MBU Rockers 76
Both MBU Rockers and PLS Hawks had finished on the losing end in their previous matches and it was important for them to get back on the winning track. Victory went the defending champions’ way on a 95-76 score.
As both sets of players came out to play hard to avoid consecutive defeats, the party was not to be as players slipped on the glossy refurbished floor of the Victoria Gymnasium court, which had become slippery due to heavy rain coming in from the sides and the roof.
The Hawks ran riots early on with Seychelles’ centre Rodney Lozé and shooting guard Jefferson Nganga coming off the bench to lead them in scoring with 28 and 24 points respectively.
After trailing the Hawks by four points – 38-42 – MBU Rockers took the lead for the first time in the match at 54-53 on swingman Cyril Agrippine’s downtown shot with 5 minutes 29 seconds (5:29) played in the third quarter.
At the end of the third 10-minute spell, the Hawks led by 11 points – 71-60 – and the margin increased to 21 points – 81-60 – with just over three minutes played in the fourth.
When Timmy Adam fouled out with 14 points and with 2:18 left to play, the Rockers could not cope with PLS Hawks’ inside pressure although they got 26 points from Cyril Agrippine and 19 from playmaker and captain Nigel Sinon.
PLS Hawks’ seventh win in eight matches has put them in the right vein ahead of their match-up against Baya this coming weekend.
So far this year, the two teams’ head-to-head record stands at 1-1. Baya won the Charity match 71-64 and PLS Hawks triumphed 79-64 in the final of the Jhelum Cup tournament (the new name of the annual Curtain-raiser tournament).
As for the Rockers, the loss – their third in nine games – has somehow dented their chances of challenging for the title.
Praslin Warriors 76 … Angels 83
There was no victory this time for Praslin Warriors as they went down to a 76-83 defeat at the hands of Angels, who gave a debut to Malagasy Hajaniaia Hazafindramanana.
After getting a famous 70-64 victory over MBU Rockers on their last outing, Praslin Warriors could not maintain the momentum despite getting 20 points from skipper Jackson Auguste, 19 including five treys from Ryan Volcère and 14 from Joseph Souffe.
In the absence of go-to guy Daniel Dodin, who is on overseas training in China just like Steven Servina, Norcy Agathine took up the slack with 18 points and Collin Japhet added 16.
After the win, Angels have an even win-lose record of 4-4 for 12 points, while the Warriors boast the same total after three wins and six defeats.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Division Two, AAP Brothers ended the first round on a winning note. They got their seventh victory on a 66-53 score against Fire Brigade to lead the 11-team standings with 17 points.
After losing 52-60 to RA Rockets last Friday, Cadets defeated RA Herons 60-55 on Sunday for only their third win in 10 matches.
Pointe Larue Falcons extended their winning run to eight with a 69-41 defeat of LMS Youth.
G. G.
It is only after this coming weekend’s match between PLS Hawks and Baya that coach Guy Hall’s team will know if they have held on to top spot. A win for Baya will see them move back into first place because they won against Premium Cobras, while a victory for PLS Hawks will be to Premium Cobras’ advantage because of their first-round win against the champions.
Premium Cobras 95 … RC Dynamics 53
The main mover in Premium Cobras’ win against the Hawks, as he almost single-handedly destroyed them, Nigerian Alao Solomon did not come anywhere to repeating the 52-point performance of the previous weekend but he still led his teammates in scoring with 35 points, including three 3-pointers.
Seychelles’ forward Dominique Pillay was the second best scorer with 12 points for the
former champions who won all four quarters – 15-11, 31-15, 33-14 and 14-13 – on their way to the top with 17 points after eight wins and a loss.
RC Dynamics, who conceded their fifth defeat in nine games, got 16 points from Kenneth Domingue and 15 from Jean-Paul Desaubin.
PLS Hawks 95 … MBU Rockers 76
Both MBU Rockers and PLS Hawks had finished on the losing end in their previous matches and it was important for them to get back on the winning track. Victory went the defending champions’ way on a 95-76 score.
As both sets of players came out to play hard to avoid consecutive defeats, the party was not to be as players slipped on the glossy refurbished floor of the Victoria Gymnasium court, which had become slippery due to heavy rain coming in from the sides and the roof.
The Hawks ran riots early on with Seychelles’ centre Rodney Lozé and shooting guard Jefferson Nganga coming off the bench to lead them in scoring with 28 and 24 points respectively.
After trailing the Hawks by four points – 38-42 – MBU Rockers took the lead for the first time in the match at 54-53 on swingman Cyril Agrippine’s downtown shot with 5 minutes 29 seconds (5:29) played in the third quarter.
At the end of the third 10-minute spell, the Hawks led by 11 points – 71-60 – and the margin increased to 21 points – 81-60 – with just over three minutes played in the fourth.
When Timmy Adam fouled out with 14 points and with 2:18 left to play, the Rockers could not cope with PLS Hawks’ inside pressure although they got 26 points from Cyril Agrippine and 19 from playmaker and captain Nigel Sinon.
PLS Hawks’ seventh win in eight matches has put them in the right vein ahead of their match-up against Baya this coming weekend.
So far this year, the two teams’ head-to-head record stands at 1-1. Baya won the Charity match 71-64 and PLS Hawks triumphed 79-64 in the final of the Jhelum Cup tournament (the new name of the annual Curtain-raiser tournament).
As for the Rockers, the loss – their third in nine games – has somehow dented their chances of challenging for the title.
Praslin Warriors 76 … Angels 83
There was no victory this time for Praslin Warriors as they went down to a 76-83 defeat at the hands of Angels, who gave a debut to Malagasy Hajaniaia Hazafindramanana.
After getting a famous 70-64 victory over MBU Rockers on their last outing, Praslin Warriors could not maintain the momentum despite getting 20 points from skipper Jackson Auguste, 19 including five treys from Ryan Volcère and 14 from Joseph Souffe.
In the absence of go-to guy Daniel Dodin, who is on overseas training in China just like Steven Servina, Norcy Agathine took up the slack with 18 points and Collin Japhet added 16.
After the win, Angels have an even win-lose record of 4-4 for 12 points, while the Warriors boast the same total after three wins and six defeats.
Meanwhile, in the Men’s Division Two, AAP Brothers ended the first round on a winning note. They got their seventh victory on a 66-53 score against Fire Brigade to lead the 11-team standings with 17 points.
After losing 52-60 to RA Rockets last Friday, Cadets defeated RA Herons 60-55 on Sunday for only their third win in 10 matches.
Pointe Larue Falcons extended their winning run to eight with a 69-41 defeat of LMS Youth.
G. G.
# posted by afrbk : 14:17
