Last year’s finalists FairFirst and Commercial Credit battled it out last evening in the group stages of the Mercantile Basketball League. After a tough game for both teams, Commercial Credit came out on top.
Peoples Team of the MSBA League 2017 – Vote
The 27th Edition of the Mercantile Basketball League will commence during the third week of June…
Commercial Credit took the first possession of the ball from the jump ball and scored with an alley-oop. It was apparent from the very first few moments that it was going to be a tough game for both sides. FairFirst opted for a zone defence while Commercial Credit employed a man to man defence. The FairFirst offensive strategy was strongly reliant on taking jump shots but they lost possession of the ball on a couple of occasions due to travelling charges and lost shooting opportunities. Whilst Commercial Credit had great assists and a tight defence to back it up throughout the first quarter, they only managed to get a lead of 01 point by the end of the quarter.
First Quarter: Commercial Credit-11 FairFirst-10
The second quarter was a low scoring quarter for both sides due to an inability to get through the tight defence either team had. Although Commercial Credit was faster to collect the rebound FairFirst turned the tables on Commercial Credit as they led by 4 points going into lemons.
Second Quarter: Commercial Credit-16 FairFirst-20
Commercial Credit closed the gap between the two teams switching to a half-court press and increasing the pressure on FairFirst. The Commercial Credit team took back the lead but it was short-lived as a shot from downtown by FairFirst evened the scores. Going into the final 10 minutes of the game neither team had a lead and the pressure was high on both teams to keep control of the game as they went into the final 10 minutes with the scores tied making it the most crucial quarter of the game.
Third Quarter: Commercial Credit- 39 FairFirst- 39
Commercial Credit had a strong start in the final 10 minutes starting it off with a 3-point play followed by 2 shots from downtown giving Commercial Credit the first significant lead the game had seen. FairFirst began to slip up on their defence a little and Commercial Credit was able to increase the deficit. Although FairFirst wasn’t far behind, a couple free shot opportunities that Commercial Credit received in the last few seconds ensured their victory as FairFirst ran out of time and luck trailing by 3 at the end of the final quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Commercial Credit-56 FairFirst- 53
The Commercial Credit coach had this to say after their victory: “It was definitely a tough match and we have a lot more to improve on before the next few matches. Although we have good shooters their mobility isn’t as good as it should be but we’re working on improving these flaws. Even Llast year we did lose a couple matches in the group stage but we managed to become the champions and this year should be no different.”
