20 November 2007
SEYCHELLES : Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Cup - Finalists sweep semifinal series
AVOIDING a third match which could have been an additional pressure on them as the season nears its end and the players are growing tired, the women’s and men’s finalists of the Seychelles Basketball Federation (SBF) Cup swept their semifinal series over the weekend at Victoria Gymnasium.
While Anse Etoile Stars, HotShots (women) and Premium Cobras (men) qualified for the finals with wins on the court itself, PLS Hawks walked over MBU Rockers who decided not to play game two on Sunday after they were told that they could not field Timmy Adam who had been hit with a technical foul for swearing in game one the day before.
In fact, MBU Rockers’ head coach Alvin Alcindor was informed of the decision at the end of the game one which they lost 51-88 and he even received an explanation from referee James Joubert regarding the incident.
Before the start of game two on Sunday, head coach Alcindor was again told that Adam was not eligible to play. After much consultation with National Basketball Technical Committee (NBTC) chairperson Tracey Hétimier, head coach Alcindor and team manager Linda Sinon asked for an official letter to prove the decision.
Being a Sunday and game one having been played Saturday, it was not possible for Mrs Hétimier to hand them a typed letter regarding the matter.
But what MBU Rockers probably forgot is that it is clearly written under the Rules of Conduct section of the SBF bye-laws that:
Team member(s) who uses languages or gestures likely to offend or incite spectators, their opponents in any official match, he/she will be automatically suspended for two consecutive official matches.
Sports Nation has learned that MBU Rockers, who left the court before the start of the match, will appeal against the decision not to allow Adam to play, leading to the win by walkover for PLS Hawks.
Back to some serious business on the court, Baya, who had lost game one 84-54, needed to win game two to stay alive and they just did not have the kind of spirit to keep the momentum going.
Leading by three points – 39-36 - at the break, Baya found themselves trailing 60-67 against Premium Cobras with time not in their favour, but they still equalised at 67-67 on a Steve Denis lay-up with just over two minutes remaining.
Again some slack defending let Baya down as Premium Cobras’ Tanzanian international Abdallah ‘Dulla’ Ramadhan scored on a drive with a minute left on the clock.
It was probably not Baya’s day as playmaker Giovanni Laval’s and Jean-Paul Camille’s 3-point attempts did not find the target and Hendricks Denis missed two free-throws with three seconds left, thus missing on a possibility to tie the match and force extra-time. Baya lost 68-70 and will have to watch from the stands as Premium Cobras meet PLS Hawks in the best-of-three final.
In the women’s competition, HotShots had no trouble sweeping their semifinal series against RA Sisters, winning games one and two 72-32 and 61-32 respectively.
Defending champions HotShots will meet Anse Etoile Stars in the final after the latter weathered Mont Fleuri’s challenge on the way to claiming victories in two matches in as many days. They won game one 55-40 last Saturday and game two 57-44 on Sunday to make another appearance in the SBF Cup final after missing out last year.
G. G.
While Anse Etoile Stars, HotShots (women) and Premium Cobras (men) qualified for the finals with wins on the court itself, PLS Hawks walked over MBU Rockers who decided not to play game two on Sunday after they were told that they could not field Timmy Adam who had been hit with a technical foul for swearing in game one the day before.
In fact, MBU Rockers’ head coach Alvin Alcindor was informed of the decision at the end of the game one which they lost 51-88 and he even received an explanation from referee James Joubert regarding the incident.
Before the start of game two on Sunday, head coach Alcindor was again told that Adam was not eligible to play. After much consultation with National Basketball Technical Committee (NBTC) chairperson Tracey Hétimier, head coach Alcindor and team manager Linda Sinon asked for an official letter to prove the decision.
Being a Sunday and game one having been played Saturday, it was not possible for Mrs Hétimier to hand them a typed letter regarding the matter.
But what MBU Rockers probably forgot is that it is clearly written under the Rules of Conduct section of the SBF bye-laws that:
Team member(s) who uses languages or gestures likely to offend or incite spectators, their opponents in any official match, he/she will be automatically suspended for two consecutive official matches.
Sports Nation has learned that MBU Rockers, who left the court before the start of the match, will appeal against the decision not to allow Adam to play, leading to the win by walkover for PLS Hawks.
Back to some serious business on the court, Baya, who had lost game one 84-54, needed to win game two to stay alive and they just did not have the kind of spirit to keep the momentum going.
Leading by three points – 39-36 - at the break, Baya found themselves trailing 60-67 against Premium Cobras with time not in their favour, but they still equalised at 67-67 on a Steve Denis lay-up with just over two minutes remaining.
Again some slack defending let Baya down as Premium Cobras’ Tanzanian international Abdallah ‘Dulla’ Ramadhan scored on a drive with a minute left on the clock.
It was probably not Baya’s day as playmaker Giovanni Laval’s and Jean-Paul Camille’s 3-point attempts did not find the target and Hendricks Denis missed two free-throws with three seconds left, thus missing on a possibility to tie the match and force extra-time. Baya lost 68-70 and will have to watch from the stands as Premium Cobras meet PLS Hawks in the best-of-three final.
In the women’s competition, HotShots had no trouble sweeping their semifinal series against RA Sisters, winning games one and two 72-32 and 61-32 respectively.
Defending champions HotShots will meet Anse Etoile Stars in the final after the latter weathered Mont Fleuri’s challenge on the way to claiming victories in two matches in as many days. They won game one 55-40 last Saturday and game two 57-44 on Sunday to make another appearance in the SBF Cup final after missing out last year.
G. G.
# posted by afrbk : 12:13
