Basketball in Africa

MEN’S defending champs Premium Cobras are in the quarterfinals of the Curtain-raiser tournament after their 77-60 victory over Cascade Bullets on Sunday at Victoria Gymnasium, but it was Drifters who stole the limelight on the day with a big win over Angels.

Cobras skipper Pillay (no. 11) finished with 14 pointsThe Cobras, with Nigerian playmaker Michael Oko Ohiero making his debut and scoring 13 points, won three of the four quarters against the Bullets, coached by Tony Juliette.

Skipper Dominic Pillay finished with 14 points and Nigerian centre Simon Pusam added 11 for Premium Cobras, while Bullets’ captain Biko Biong led all scores with 18.

Playing in the bottom half of the draw, Premium Cobras will next meet Pointe Larue Falcons, who dispatched AAP Brothers 54-38 on the back of 21 points from Sam Gabriel.

After reaching the century mark in a 124-46 victory over LMS Youth in their first match, MBU Rockers got balanced scoring with Brian Morel getting 16 (including three treys), playmaker Nigel Sinon 15 and swingman Cyril Agrippine 12 (including two buckets from downtown) in Sunday’s 85-33 victory over Anse Etoile.

Second division outfit Drifters of Anse Boileau, who are made up of a crop of talented young players, shocked first division side Angels, who come from the same district but play in the big league.

With playmaker Arnaud Arissol orchestrating his team’s play and burying five treys to shoot the lights out of Angels with his team-leading 20 points, Drifters celebrated a deserved 72-66 victory. Dominique Françoise made a 15-point contribution in the win and captain Frank Seth added 13.

Although Garry Duprès top-scored with 26 points, he could do nothing to stop Angels from making an embarrassing exit.
Coached by Angels’ forward Denis Dodin, Drifters will play first divisioners Mont Fleuri Dawgz on Thursday for a place in the quarterfinals.

In the top half, Baya got a game-high 27 points from centre and captain Robert Léon and shooting guard Steve Denis added 16, including three 3-pointers, in their 77-73 victory over reigning league champions PLS Hawks, who beat them 82-70 in the Charity match on Sunday February 21.

Veteran Jim Domingue finished with 16 points to lead the Hawks, who gave former Premium Cobras’ Nigerian forward Alao Solomon a debut. Solomon, who along with playmaker Thomas Collie, fouled out in the fourth quarter, finished with 12 points – the same total as player of the year Rodney Lozé – while Jefferson Nganga added 11.

In the quarterfinals, Baya will now match up with RC Dynamics, who got 27 points from skipper Jean-Paul Desaubin in a 69-50 defeat of relegated Beau Vallon Heat.

RA Herons, who walked over Cadets, will meet Razors who eliminated Juniors 59-45 in their first match.

In the women’s competition, defending champions Anse Etoile Stars will start the defence of their title on Friday when they play last year’s top-of-the-table winners Mont Fleuri, who had no trouble beating RA Sisters 53-27.

Veteran Williana Dubois had the hot hands for Mont Fleuri with 11 points and forward Bernadette Songor added 10.
Another veteran, Lina Lestrange, led RA Sisters with 10 points.

G. G.