POSTED BY: Eurobasket Center
The first game for the day was a close encounter with the Tafea women playing against the Shefa team.
The Tefea team were playing some excellent basketball once again lead by an up and coming young player Manolita Kasten who scored 20 points. She was also assisted in the scoring by Kanna who scored 4 three pointers, in her total of 15 points. The Shefa team were led by Lisa Tokataake who was unstoppable in the low post to beging the game scoring the first 10 points for Shefa. The game was close to the finish with the final score being 46- 41 in favour of Shefa. The more experience the Tafea team are having the better they are playing, it goes to show that playing tough competition improves players.
The next game between Shefa and Tafea this time in the men's competition was a close encounter unitl half time. Then Shafe abegan to take control. Olivier Lichht began the game with a run of points against his name to lead his team to a slim first quarter lead. He was leading by example and demonstrating some increases in confidence he gained whilst playing in Fiji for Vanuatu at the South Pacific Games. The final score for the game was 42-25 in favour of Shefa.
The 10:00 time slot was also filled by a women's game between Luganiville and Malampa Provinces. The game was one where there were many ebbs and flows within the gaem. The Malampa team were a little foul troubled early and then had difficulty scoring due to the tough defence of the Luganville team. Noelline Stephen again had a strong game for the Luganville team scoring 14 points. The Malampa team have amny young and inexperienced players and are improving every game. The final score was 33-10 in favour of Luganville.
The game between Luganville men and Port Vila men was a close encounter with a great atmosphere surrounding the game. The game was neck and neck until the third quarter, where Port Vila pulled away with a 19 to 7 score line in the quarter. The game was characterised by tough defence and some excellent tussles for the ball in the midcourt. A Standout performer for Port Vila was Kevin. R with 18 points. Luganville was once again lead by Micky , showing his experience from the South Pacific Games. He was also a steadying influence when a great deal of pressure was put on by the intense defence applied by Port Vila. The Final Score was 54 -40 to Port Vila.
The next game played was between Port Vila and Sanma in the women's competition. This game started slowly with a number of minutes being played before a score was recorded. Nancy Patterson was one of the top scorers for the game with 14 points. Nancy was showing how increased intensity in offence can make a difference to the percentage of successful shots. For the Sanma team Sina Reveala was equal top scorer with 8 points with Lyan Marao. The Sanma team is comprised of young players who are improving each game, gaining more game sense, developing better vision and awareness of spaces on the court. It is hoped that this competition will be a springboard for interest in basketball in this province.
