Basketball: International friendly-Seychelles men pull off morale-boosting win |22 July 2011
Sylla stayed out of foul trouble – committing just one – and got big scores on the board – 23 points (8 out of 10 2-pointers and 7 out of 10 free-throws) after spending 38 minutes – more than any other player – on the Palais des Sports court.
Wednesday’s men’s final was beamed live to all homes by the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation, but still many basketball fans turned up at the venue to witness first-hand the win and the quality of play of the Seychelles team who are eyeing gold at the fast-approaching 8th Indian Ocean Island Games.
Meanwhile, the women’s tournament has been won by the Mozambique team who beat a determined and much-improved Seychelles side 70-44 in the final.
Abdel Sylla powers Seychelles
Everything looked perfect for Italian coach M. Ottocento early in the game as his team blanked the Seychelles side 10-0 before winning the first quarter 20-11.
Tough in the paint as he brought down 12 rebounds – one offensive and 11 defensive – Abdel Sylla got the crowd on its feet with a two-handed power jam with 7 minutes 15 seconds (7:15) left in the second quarter (26-20) followed by another two in succession in the second quarter for 15 of his 23 points as Seychelles pulled to within six – 37-31 – at
After firing blanks in the first half, veteran swingman Agrippine, who played 32 minutes and finished with 15 points, got back to his senses in the third quarter, banking three treys to bring Seychelles to within five points – 57-52 – after 30 minutes of play.
Seychelles came to within one point – 62-61 – on a playmaker Nigel Sinon 3-pointer with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter and point guard Bernard Bristol, who did a fine defensive job against the Italians, pulled off the trigger to shoot out the lights from downtown off his own dribble with 6:20 on the clock, giving Seychelles the lead for the first time in the match at 64-62.
After captain Caprari had banked a 3-pointer and the game still close at 75-74 with 2:08 left in Seychelles’ favour, diminutive shooter Steven Servina connected with an open trey with 27.1 seconds remaining.
The Seychelles team breathed a sigh of relief and although the Italians tried to re-think tactics during a time-out, they just could not find a way past the Seychelles defence, who conceded just 17 points in the final quarter. Amadou Sylla got 10 of his 13 points in the final 10-minute spell during which Seychelles netted 30 points for a morale-boosting 82-74 victory.
It was a nice win, but one which the Seychellois should not let it go to their heads. They should instead use it as a morale-booster and at the same time work on their transition game to become faster in attack.
Coach Clifford Joubert, who once again took a seat on the bench as French technical advisor Dominique Guéret ran the show, has to get his backcourt players to be more aggressive and destabilise the opposing defence to get easy baskets.
Not only did Seychelles win the final, they also avenged the 66-74 round-robin loss to Italy, just like they did against Mozambique in the 62-53 semifinal win after losing the first encounter 53-67 to the same side who are ranked 13th in Africa and 58th worldwide.
Seychelles women lose to Mozambique
Coach Philip Arissol knew his team had no chance against African zone VI champions Mozambique, but still sent his players on to the court with the aim of giving their best shot.
It was interesting to see what a difference two days can make in the lives of the Seychellois female basketballers.
Outhustled in the first game, coach Arissol’s girls put on a brave fight and even had the Mozambicans doubting at times. But Mozambique, who will play in the AfroBasket in Bamako, Mali from September 23 to October 2, made their experience count with some precise passing and accurate shooting.
Ranked fourth in Africa and 34th worldwide, Mozambique, who had Cosse (14 points) and Silva (13) combining for 27 points, netted 20 of their 38 attempted 2-point shots, 8 of their 15 attempted 3-pointers and banked 6 of 10 free-throws.
After playing for 32 minutes, Solin carried Seychelles’ scoring load with 15 points (6 out of 11 2-pointers and 3 out of 3 free-throws). She also brought down eight rebounds – two offensive and six defensive.
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What the coaches said:
Seychelles women’s coach Philip Arissol: “There has been a big improvement in my team’s play and I’m very satisfied with what I saw today (Wednesday). We still showed too much respect for our opponents at times. I also noticed that my players are tired as the matches grew older and this is because they are training in the morning and playing in the afternoon.”
Seychelles women’s technical advisor Dominique Guéret: “My players have played really well. It’s a fantastic win. But still, they should not let the win go to their heads. Instead they should keep their heads on their shoulders and train harder to be more competitive. The tournament has given us the opportunity to correct the mistakes some of the players have been making.”
Italy selection coach M. Ottocento: “It’s been a good basketball experience. We are happy to have helped the Seychelles team prepare for the Games. We played different set offences and the Seychelles team responded well. We see that they play strong basketball and tough defence. They have in Abdel Sylla a leader, but because he plays at a higher level than the rest of the team he must be patient and bring the rest along with him. On the whole, I’m impressed that the Seychelles team improved during the tournament to beat both Mozambique and our team after losing the first match-ups.”
G. G.