24 May 2007
SEYCHELLES : Anse Etoile Stars pummel Mont Fleuri
Third place finishers behind winners Sotrata of Madagascar and runners-up Basket-ball Club Dionysien (BCD) of Reunion in the recent Indian Ocean Club Championship (IOCC) held in Reunion, the Stars always looked in cruising mode as they won all four quarters – 17-6, 23-19, 19-9 and 21-6.
Forced to leave the court with a little less than three minutes left on the clock in the fourth quarter because of cramps, experienced centre Simone Malbrook led a quadruplet of Stars in double. She led all scores with 19 points and was helped on the offensive board by Lucia Souffe (17 points), playmaker Lindy Mathiot (16 points, including four 3-points three of which came in the fourth quarter) and skipper Simone Asba (13 points including three treys).
In fact, except for Priscilla Devasin, all the players coach Malbrook used for the match got their names on the score-sheet as the Stars collected their first two points of the season in their very first mach.
Without a coach on their bench and badly in need of one to set the tone for them, Mont Fleuri relied on centre Lindy Aglaé and veteran Williana Dubois for scoring. Formerly with Bel Air, Aglaé got 14 points, while Dubois made an 11-point contribution.
Dubois, who remains one of the fittest female players here and boasts a never-say-die attitude, deserves a call-up to the country’s pre-selection despite being 39 years old.
Tuesday’s defeat being their second after they lost 49-59 to Anse Boileau-based HotShots, Mont Fleuri, who have two wins and two losses to amass six points out of a possible eight, know that they need to patch things together and start winning against the title pretenders if they want to challenge for the most coveted crown.
As early frontrunners HotShots who already have three wins in as many outings, they look to make a claim on the league title after winning the Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Cup last year and the Curtain-raiser title at the start of the year.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Men’s division 1A defending champions Premium Cobras reached the century mark as they swept past Cascade Bullets on a 117-37 score to shoot to the top of the eight-team standings with a maximum four points after two matches played.
Runners-up to Madagascar’s MBC Sebam at the recent IOCC in Reunion, the Cobras had James Beier and Lenny ‘Bad’ Aglaé combining for 68 points as they won the four quarters 35-4, 24-17, 24-12 and 34-4.
In fact, PLS Hawks and MBU Rockers are also unbeaten after two matches played but they trail the champions by virtue of an inferior basket difference.
G. G.
