POSTED BY: Eurobasket Center
After a tough season, Mont-Dore was happy to reach this stage, unfortunatly the mont-dorian were unable to stop JS Vallee-tu-Tir in the Finals serie. JSVDT won the title in two games and will now focus on the Caledonia Cup and the 2006 Pacific Champions Cup against the Tahiti champion.
Mont-Dore came in the play the Territorial Finals with high hopes despite a lost South Province Final game against the same JSVDT squad. But the 44-82 loss last month in the Territorial pool phase is still in the memory of the mont-dorian players.
"JSVDT was just to good that night, we were not on the same level" said Jean-Claude Kililiki, MDBC player. "But this time, this will be a different story, this will be a brand new game and anything can happen. We made a good preparation and we really want to make a good performance"
Unfortunatly, Felix Kilikili is still injuried.
"This is a major loss for us because he's one of our best player. But JSVDT is also damaged by injuries and will play without three starters including the Weber brothers. This could give us the edge. We will have to handle Fabrice Chaliot in the paint. Anyway we would have to play our best because the Vallee is a great team."
Game 1:
JSVDT - MDBC: 78-64
That was a very close game in the first three quarter but a 18-0 run from the JSVDT in the last period made the difference.
"Our physical shape is not good enough" explained Felix Kilikili. "But our opponent was very good. We hold on during most of the game before a big slump. We need to have a better defense if we want to win the Game 2. But anyways, this is already a great thing to play in this Territorial Finals considering our horrible season opening"
For sure the JSVDT made a good game but for the coach, they could have been an even better.
"We made some stupid mistakes" said Eric Saminadin "But at the end of the gay we reached our goal even without two players who left the team to play in France. We won and i'm glad we took a 14-point lead in the last quarter because a basketball game is 40-minutes long, not 30."
Game 2:
JSVDT - MDBC: 82-56
After a pretty close Game 1, Fabrice Chaliot (194-F/C-74) and his teamate wanted to secure this game as soon as possible and reached the end of the first quarter on a 24-13 lead. The game was really intense and there was a lot of tension in the classic clash. JSVDT lead increased throughout the entire game: 39-26 at half-time and 60-41 after three quarter. Stephane Saminadin showcased his shooting skills from behind the arc.
"This time we didn't need a fourth quarter" said coach Eric Saminadin. "Even against a strong defense we were able to score 82pts. The players really played with their brains, they did more passes and played a much clever game. Our next stop will be the Caledonia Cup and the Pacific Champions Cup in December."
Thanks to this title, Vallee-du-Tir is qualified to the 2007 Pacific Champions Cup which will be held in Tahiti, with a potential spot in the French Cup up for grabbs.
