26 September 2006
SEYCHELLES : Anse Etoile wins the 2006 championship
THE party must have been good and full of fun for Anse Etoile Stars and Premium Cobras after they clinched the Women’s and Men’s division 1A League championships on Sunday September 24 at the Palais des Sports.
The Stars needed to win by a six-point margin against Bel Air and they did it by an even bigger advantage – 11 – thanks to their 49-38 victory to be crowned champions on the head-to-head rule after both teams finished the championship tied on 22 points (10 wins and two defeats apiece in 12 games).
Having won the first-round match-up 47-42, Bel Air knew that Anse Etoile Stars would come out strong, but probably they did not imagine how aggressive coach Michel Malbrook’s players would be for the decisive encounter.
Unable to get off the blocks, Bel Air trailed 2-13 at the end of the first quarter and 13-27 at half-time as the Stars, playing without a playmaker, distanced themselves from their opponents with accurate outside shooting – Dinah Louis scoring three 3-pointers for nine of her 12 points and Simone Asba hitting two treys despite playing with a torn calf muscle.Hurt in their ego, Bel Air doubled their determination and got a combined 11 points from veteran captain Thyra Boniface and Patricia Samynadin to outscore Anse Etoile Stars 14-7 in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to seven points – 34-27.
When Bel Air started turning the ball over like in the first half and centre Lindy Aglaé missing easy lay-ups although she top-scored in the match with 15 points, the Stars went on a 12-2 run with Lucia Souffe netting eight consecutive points to bring the score to 44-29.
The closest Bel Air got was at 10 points – 44-34 and 46-36 – but as time ticked away they failed to pressure the Stars who celebrated victory.
Having achieved their goal of winning their 14th championship crown in 16 seasons, the Stars, who dethroned Bel Air as women’s champions last year with two matches to spare, are now aiming to defend their Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Cup to achieve another League and Cup double.
The Stars needed to win by a six-point margin against Bel Air and they did it by an even bigger advantage – 11 – thanks to their 49-38 victory to be crowned champions on the head-to-head rule after both teams finished the championship tied on 22 points (10 wins and two defeats apiece in 12 games).
Having won the first-round match-up 47-42, Bel Air knew that Anse Etoile Stars would come out strong, but probably they did not imagine how aggressive coach Michel Malbrook’s players would be for the decisive encounter.
Unable to get off the blocks, Bel Air trailed 2-13 at the end of the first quarter and 13-27 at half-time as the Stars, playing without a playmaker, distanced themselves from their opponents with accurate outside shooting – Dinah Louis scoring three 3-pointers for nine of her 12 points and Simone Asba hitting two treys despite playing with a torn calf muscle.Hurt in their ego, Bel Air doubled their determination and got a combined 11 points from veteran captain Thyra Boniface and Patricia Samynadin to outscore Anse Etoile Stars 14-7 in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to seven points – 34-27.
When Bel Air started turning the ball over like in the first half and centre Lindy Aglaé missing easy lay-ups although she top-scored in the match with 15 points, the Stars went on a 12-2 run with Lucia Souffe netting eight consecutive points to bring the score to 44-29.
The closest Bel Air got was at 10 points – 44-34 and 46-36 – but as time ticked away they failed to pressure the Stars who celebrated victory.
Having achieved their goal of winning their 14th championship crown in 16 seasons, the Stars, who dethroned Bel Air as women’s champions last year with two matches to spare, are now aiming to defend their Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Cup to achieve another League and Cup double.
# posted by afrbk : 16:07
