Basketball: Curtain-raiser   |11 May 2023

B Challenge and HotShots are presently first and second in the women’s ranking (Photo: Roland Duval)

Men’s division two semifinal scene set

● Top flight pool B still open

The semifinal scene for this season’s men’s division two Curtain-raiser tournament has been set where newcomers PLS Legends will face St Louis Saints, while the other final-four clash will feature Praslin Boys and PLS Suns.

As for the top flight semifinals, only two teams from pool A – PLS Hawks and Mont Fleuri Dawgz ‒ have booked their place so far, while pool B is still open.

Drawn in pool A alongside St Louis Saints, MBU Boys and Bel Air Basketball Academy (Baba), Praslin Boys took maximum six points in the group by winning all the their three matches.

They beat Baba 84-50, St Louis Saints 66-52 and MBU Boys 83-57 to top the group, booking their semifinal spot against PLS Suns who finished second in the other pool.

As for St Louis Saints, they finished as group A’s runners-up on five points from two wins and one defeat.

They beat MBU Boys 81-65 and Baba 69-66.

MBU Boys finished third in the group on four points from a win – 73-68 over Baba – and two defeats, while the latter collected three points from three defeats, placing them last on the table.

In pool B, PLS Legends collected maximum eight points from four wins in as many matches, placing them on top and a semifinal rendez-vous with St Louis Saints.

PLS Legends, featuring stars of the 90s, beat PLS Suns 67-53, Mont Fleuri Ballerz 74-61, Anse Royale 112-45 and PTL Thunder 111-28.

PLS Suns, on the other hand, have already qualified for the semis even if they still have one match remaining.

They are presently second on five points from two wins and one defeat, having beaten Anse Royale 63-39 and walked over Mont Fleuri Ballerz.

Even if they lose their last match against PTL Thunder, PLS Suns will earn a point, pushing their tally to six, the same total as Anse Royale, so they will still go through on the head-to-head rule.

A win, on the other hand, will earn them two points, bringing their tally to seven.

In the men’s division one competition, Mont Fleuri Dawgz who have played all their four group matches are presently on top of pool A on seven points from three wins and one defeat, having beaten Cascade Bullets 78-38, Premium Cobras 78-50, and Anse Etoile 88-63, while their only defeat was against PLS Hawks where they narrowly lost 70-73.

The Mont Fleuri side have already qualified for the semifinal, but they will however go through as the group’s second best since PLS Hawks who are presently second have one more match left to play.

In any case scenario, Hawks will finish as group leaders as they have now accumulated six points from three win in as many matches played, having beaten Dawgz, Premium Cobras 89-39, and Anse Etoile 79-54.

A win in their last group match against Cascade Bullets will earn them two additional points, increasing their final tally to eight, while a defeat will earn them one point, bringing their tally to seven, similar to Dawgz’. However, the Hawks will finish as leaders based on the head-to-head rules.

Anse Etoile are presently third in the group on six points from two wins and two defeats out of four matches played, having beaten Premium Cobras 69-65, and Cascade Bullets 71-61.

Premium Cobras are fourth overall on five points from a single win and there defeats, having beaten Cascade bullets 59-40.

On three points from three defeats, the Bullets are at the bottom with one match remaining.

Pool B which features Beau Vallon Heat, Drifters, Baya, AB Boys and MBU Rockers is still wide open and any two of the top three teams still have a fair chance of making it through the semifinals.

Leaders Beau Vallon Heat have collected maximum six points from three wins in as many matches played, having beaten AB Boys 86-26,  MBU Rockers 108-52 and Drifters 76-53.

They have one match left against Baya who are presently third after playing only two matches where they beat MBU Rockers 94-46 and AB Boys 105-49.

In case of victories in their remaining matches, including against Beau Vallon Heat, Baya will emerge as group winners on eight points, while the Heat will finish as the group’s runners-up.

In case of a win against the Heat and defeat against Drifters, Baya will finish as group winners on the head-to-head rule, while a win over Drifters and defeat against the Heat will see them finish as second best in the group.

Defeats in both matches will however place the Bel Air-based side third in the group, halting their Curtain-raiser campaign.

In the women’s competition, Bel Air-based B Challenge are presently leading on four points from two wins in as many matches played, defeating HotShots 40-36 and Mont Fleuri Ladies 70-47.

HotShots are second on three points from a win and a defeat, having beaten Anse Etoile Stars 50-32, pushing the latter into third place, also on three points, following their 64-28 victory over Mont Fleuri Ladies who are at the bottom on two points from two defeats.

Roland Duval