POSTED BY: Eurobasket News
Nelson Direng
Correspondent Mmegi Monitor 23/05/2011
Perennial champions, Troopers, trampled on long-time rivals, Spartans, 79-62 in the basketball league game on Friday.
Spartans went into the game with high hopes of beating Troopers and started well by dominating the games in the first quarter. They drew first blood through Raymond Madzudzo with shooting guard, Mothusi 'Speedy' Thipe, answering for Troopers. Thereafter, Spartans used their quick passing game to maintain dominance scoring basket after basket until they ended the first quarter in the lead.
In the second quarter, Troopers fought back although they did not completely suppress Spartans. The game intensified and became an exchange of baskets between two of the toughest teams in the league. Troopers emerged tops, ending the first half with 39-33 lead.
In the third quarter, Spartans lost steam and Troopers took full advantage of their weak defence. Shooting guard, Ratanang Tsayang, who had been subdued, burst into life to lead the Troopers' charge and prove his mettle. The first dunk of the game came in the third quarter from Troopers' Michael Banda who swept through the Spartans' defence to increase to 57-46. The third quarter ended with Troopers leading 60-50.
The last and most critical quarter was once again opened by Troopers' Mbaki Pitso's three-pointer. Troopers was the only side to score dunks and three-pointers. Towards the end of the game, Spartans' players seemed demoralised and argued with each other. The much more experienced Troopers took advantage and increased the lead.
After the game, Spartans' Thipe blamed their loss on poor defence. He said they started making mistakes in the second quarter and failed to correct them. He said they would have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to boost their defence. 'This is the first loss of the season and we will not let it demoralise us because there is still a very long way to go,' he said. Thipe said that Troopers' unbeaten streak meant nothing to them because they will beat them in their next encounter.
Troopers' Tsayang however expressed disappointment in Spartans' performance saying that he expected a better show. 'The last time we played this team, we beat them by over 20 baskets and one would have assumed that a team of their calibre would have come back stronger,' he said. Ratanang blamed Spartans' poor performance on their lack of structure. 'What I have realised is that the team just plays a passing game unlike us who can rely on dribbling and making moves if passing doesn't work,' he said.
