Basketball: The Braves Repeat As Champions

It’s about five minutes to go till the end of the second quarter. It’s the Final game of the tournament. The game is hot. There has been at least 5 lead changes and neither the Braves nor Shepherds has led by more than 3 points throughout the game.

Meme Falconer has the ball at the top of the circle guarded by Braves small forward Sulley. Meme dribbles left past him and finds himself heading towards the hole with no one in the lane. His eyes light up and take off for the hole. Braves swingman Patrick Sellasie steps in for the block but he was late… …Meme takes the ball UP HIGH AND DOWN HARD in Papa’s face!!! Lebanon House erupts. The game is paused for about 15 minutes for the court to be cleared of fans who spontaneously rushed unto the court in uncontrollable excitement.

That was the major highlight of a tense and pulsating final between the Braves of the Customs Excise and Preventive Services (CEPS) and the Shepherds of Tema. It was the kind of dunk that would make any team quiver and lose the game before it was over but the defending champions showed they had the heart and composure required to repeat as champions. They kept their heads and ended the half at 33 – 35 with Shepherds up two points.

The third quarter was Shepherds worst quarter. The failed to core in double digits tallying only 8 points against Braves’ 16 giving the defending champs the largest margin yet at 6 points.

By the fourth quarter, fatigue had set in for both teams. Outside shooting had become less accurate and teams needed to go inside to get points and this is where the Braves showed their superiority. They were better conditioned and stifled their opponents when they came in their lane. They rebounded well defensively resulting in fast break points. Halfway through the fourth, it was obvious the Shepherds had very little going for them. They look erratic and disorganized as Braves extended their defensive pressure to a full court press. Although the game was still close with a lot of time on the clock, all five players on the court looked like they were looking for one final shot to end the game. They shot enough bricks to give the Braves enough confidence to go on a 7 – 0 run.

Late in the fourth, Braves forward, Nartey , picked up and unnecessary technical which Meme calmly converted to close up the game. Shepherds final surge with Nikoi, Meme and Eric attacking the rim tenaciously ended abruptly with Eric Tetteh’s 5th foul.

With Eric out of the game, the Braves knew they only had to hold on their lead for a couple of minutes to pick up the Kabalan cup for the fifth time. They did just that with the game ending 66 – 58 in favour of the Braves of CEPS.