Africa-Press – Angola. The 1º de Agosto team won the 32nd edition of the Angolan Senior Women’s Basketball Cup, by defeating, yesterday, the similar team from Interclube, by 74-72, at the Cidadela Sports Pavilion.
Given the balance between the two best teams in the country, the outcome of the match was unpredictable, as favoritism was shared by 50 percent.
The police did not approach the first moments in the best way and lost the opening fourth, by 19-16, but they kept the balance and left everything open for the second quarter.
On the other hand, the military managed to maintain their dominance, as, at a certain point, the coach Walter Costa made some changes, placed the lower players, in order to give more speed, and in this way, went out to win, by 42-35, in the larger range.
On their return, the team responsible for the National Police made it clear that they would do their best and it was no different. The tune was one of stops and answers, but Interclube knew how to take advantage of defensive gaps to balance the accounts.
In the defensive chapter, to avoid the loss of defensive rebounds, the firefighters team managed to keep Tamara Ceda and Cristina Matiquiti away in the painted area, fundamental players in the red and black indoor game.
The North American base Meighan Simmons, for Interclube and the winger Rosa Gala, for 1º de Agosto, made the difference in the attack of their respective teams, with the support of their companions.
At the end of the third quarter, the two clubs were tied at 53 points, but the fact that Inter had won, in the partial, by 18-11, to the satisfaction of coach Carlos Diniz, who asked for the same determination to the last ten minutes, strictly timed.
With six seconds to go before the final whistle, Italee Lucas re-established equality, at 72 points. However, the police were unable to keep the military pole Tamara Seda away from the basket, and it was up to the Mozambican to score the two precious points to guarantee victory for the Rio Seco team.
Rosa Gala was the Most Valuable Player (MVP), with 20 points, while Simmons, with 17 goals scored, was the most dissatisfied among Carlos Diniz’s coaches.
At the end of the match, Diniz acknowledged that the defense failed in the last seconds by not being able to protect the table: “It’s not worth crying over spilled milk, let’s get back to work, improve where we failed to attack the national championship”, he said.
On the other hand, assistant coach Ângela Cardoso started by highlighting a good show provided by the teams and acknowledged that the match was decided in the details.
“Any of the contenders deserved to win, they gave their best in search of the trophy, fortunately, we were happy and we had the merit we are to be congratulated for that”.
The players dedicated the title to the 45th anniversary of the foundation of the Clube Central das Forças Armadas, celebrated yesterday, and redeemed themselves from the defeat in the Supercup, by 81-76, against the arch-rivals, played in June, at the Palanca Negra Pavilion. , in the city of Malange.
The two formations are with the batteries facing the second phase of the National.
For More News And Analysis About Angola Follow Africa-Press
