Papua New Guinea female basketball veteran Betty Angula has led the CivPac Amesii to secure the first grand final spot in the Port Moresby Elite Basketball (PEB) inaugural competition following a close 60-58 defeat against the Tribes Coffee on Wednesday night, November 6th, 2024, at Sir John Guise Stadium Indoor Complex.
Named as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the PEB Major semis, she said the team knew it was going to be a strong match against the Tribes women following their one-point win last week.
“It's the final season so we came prepared knowing well, the Tribes women will bring their best game on the court as we saw in this major semifinals,” Angula said.
Angula was pleased with a double-double performance scoring 13 points, 17 rebounds,11 assists and 3 steals on her statistics.
“A win is a win but we will still go back to the drawing board to prepare for the grand final and most importantly, stick to our game plan,” she said.
The team led by skipper and also PNG veteran Marca Muri saw a mixture of elite and new ballers perform a strong defense and offense combination on the court with Angula, Betty Wong, Jenifer Haro, Maggie Evo’o and Lydia Gotuno as their starting five.
A close opening quarter saw Amesii take a 2-point lead (16-14) in the first quarter before extending it with a 27-24 points at half time.
On the contrary, Tribes had the experience of another elite player and captain Jonitha Warabe and Margaret Kevin, who led upfront along with Delta Kare and Cynthia Baia, trailing 39-44 points after the third quarter.
Tribes picked up their pace in the final quarter, posing a danger to their opponents sealing a 58-58 deadlock against the Amesii as the clock winds down.
After multiple missed free throws from both sides and 20 seconds to go on the shot clock, Amesii took the plunge to score the final basket that cemented Cindy Elavo-coached side’s finals spot.
“This competition has seen a lot of talented players stepping up and we know that every chance we take will be a challenge, so our plans moving forward is to recover and prepare for the grand finale,” Angula added.
Meanwhile, the Tribes Coffee will be facing the Saints Pirates next week Tuesday (November 12th) in the preliminary final for a shot to secure the other grand final spot.
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