Basketball: Premium Cobras Warm-up tournament |08 February 2024
Sebastien Thomas and Mont Fleuri Dawgz will meet Drifters in tomorrow’s second semifinal (Photo: Roland Duval)
Mont Fleuri Dawgz glide past AB Boys to secure semifinal berth
The semifinal scene for the Premium Cobras Warm-up Tournament is set following the last group match yesterday at Victoria Gymnasium.
Tomorrow’s last-four encounters will feature Beau Vallon Heat against hosts Premium Cobras in the first match, while the second semifinal will be contested by Drifters and Mont Fleuri Dawgz who defeated a resilient Anse-Boileau-based AB Boys who had the backing of their loyal fans yesterday in their second group B match.
The competition, which tipped off last Friday, started on a league format, before progressing to the knockout phase.
It is aimed at reviving basketball which was almost inactive during 2023, except for the running of the Curtain-raiser tournament, and also to quench the thirst for playing time for active players, as well as to bring back much-awaited entertainment for the fans.
Group A featured Premium Cobras, Cascade Bullets and Drifters, while Beau Vallon Heat were in group B alongside Mont Fleuri Dawgz and AB Boys.
Defending league champions Beau Vallon Heat and Drifters booked their semifinal spots after topping their respective groups, while Cobras and Dawgz qualified as groups’ runners-up.
In yesterday’s match, Dawgz of coach Nigel Ah-Kong and assistant Steve Hoareau had the upper hand in the first quarter of the match, winning it 27-13, before grabbing the second quarter 12-2 for a 39-15 halftime lead.
With continuous support from their fans, AB Boys adjusted their game in the third period of the match and they outscored Dawgz by a single point – 16-15 – at the end the third 10-minute spell (54-31 in favour of Dawgz)
AB Boys maintained their momentum in the fourth and final quarter of the match and once again they outscored the Dawgz 25-12 but it was too little too late as the latter had already built their advantage in the first half to run out 66-56 winners.
Tomorrows semifinals will begin at 5.30pm with the first match featuring Beau Vallon Heat and Premium Cobras, while the match between Drifters and Mont Fleuri Dawgz will begin at 7pm.
Roland Duval