Basketball: Land Marine Cup Semi-Finals |14 December 2022

Captain Ryan Volcère goes against Hansel Tirant to lead Anse Royale to victory over MBU Boys (Photo: Roland Duval)

Beau Vallon Heat and Anse Royale book final tickets

Men’s division one league champions Beau Vallon Heat take another crucial step towards their doubles conquest this season after qualifying for the Land Marine Cup final following their 68-63 win over Drifters yesterday, while Anse Royale are chasing their first title after qualifying for the men’s division two final.

In the semifinal on Monday, Anse Royale defeated MBU Boys 46-44 to book their final berth where they will face Anse Boileau-based AB Boys on Saturday at Victoria Gymnasium.

Drawn in group A alongside PLS Hawks, Baya and Mont Fleuri Dawgz, Beau Vallon Heat collected maximum six points from three matches to top the group.

In their first group match, Heat defeated Dawgz 92-65, while in their second match against PLS Hawks, they won 92-77.

In their third and last group match, Beau Vallon Heat defeated Baya 83-68.

Against Drifters yesterday, Heat won the first quarter 20-17, before clinching the second 19-17 to lead 39-34 at half-time.

In a match that became quite physical, Beau Vallon Heat kept their dominance in the third quarter which they won 19-10, extending their lead to 58-44.

Still believing in a victory and a place in the final, Drifters who are in a transition period under new coach Tony Hortère who has taken over from Phillip Arissol, threw everything into the match in the fourth and final quarter, but were however halted by several individual slip-ups, including inaccuracy in their shooting, turn-overs, as well as failure to score easy baskets.

Despite Drifters winning the quarter 19-10, Heat’s earlier advantage managed to keep them in the lead, earning them a hard-fought 68-63 win and a spot in the final.

Captain Timmy ‘Gazza’ Adam had the hot hands for Heat with 23 points, while his counterpart Ervin Agathine led the scoring for Drifters with 22 points.

Beau Vallon Heat will know their opponents for the final when Premium Cobras play against PLS Hawks in the second semifinal.

Anse Royale edge out MBU Boys to reach final

In the men’s division two competition, to qualify for the semifinal, Anse Royal eliminated their only opponents, the Bel Air Basketball Academy (Baba) 59-51 in the group stage, while MBU Boys defeated league champions Anse Etoile 69-59 to top group D.

In Monday’s semifinal, Anse Royale started as the strongest side, winning the first quarter 14-10, before allowing MBU Boys to change the course of the match in the second quarter, winning it 22-12 to lead 32-26 at half-time.

Seeing the match and a place in the final slowly slipping away, Anse Royale re-adjusted their game in the third quarter, winning it 10-4, tying the match at 36 points apiece at the end of the period.

In the fourth and final and quarter of the match, both teams threw everything they had left into the match, but it was Anse Royale who had the upper hand at the end, scoring 10 points, compared to eight for MBU Boys, earning the former a 46-44 win and place in the final.

Neil Pharce was Anse Royale’s top scorer with 17 points, while Malagasy Razafimahatratra led the scoring for MBU Boys with 12 points.

Roland Duval