Fans were on the edge of their seats following a nail-biting match yesterday evening (October 22nd) after the Togoba Coffee defeated the Moni Plus with a 112-111 scoreline at the Sir John Guise Stadium Indoor Complex.
With a match remaining ahead of the Port Moresby Elite Basketball (PEB) competition finals, teams have begun their quest by bringing their best game to the basketball court.
Togoba's assistant coach, Moi Muri said this was a really close match, as the Moni Plus were at their best leading in the first three quarters.
“We had a lot to polish up on in the last two quarters with both our offense and defense, because Moni Plus took the lead in the first three quarters of the match,” Muri said.
“It was fast-paced basketball and also, it got everyone else off their feet to support. In the end, we relied on the free baskets to get extra points and that brought us through.”
Togoba was led by current PNG representative Purari Muri, while the the Moni Plus side was dominated by the Elavos, another household name in PNG basketball and were led by former representative Gabriel Elavo, and captain Moses Kairi.
In the first quarter, it was the Moni Plus who took the early lead with 31-24 points. A show of class in the shooting game saw Morea Elavo Jnr, Martin Ben and skipper Kairi lead the points.
The Moni Plus led comfortably at half time with a 52-48 margin when Togoba caught up with them during the third quarter.
A break through for the men in green saw Purari Muri, Obert Muri and fellow team mate Tony Haro, score points in the paint for a close 75-77 trail in the third quarter.
It all came down to the wire in the dying minutes as the match reached its climax, with both sides scoring over 100 points leading up to the final whistle.
Moni Plus had the game in their hands, leading by two points with seconds to count down. However, they lost that chance through professional fouls twice that saw the Togoba captain take his chances for free throws that ended with a one-point difference (112-111) at full time.
Despite edging the Moni Plus to secure a fourth placing on the standings, Muri admitted that there was still room for improvement.
“We still need to work on our offense and defense for our next match but overall, it was a good win for the boys,” the veteran coach said.
Meanwhile, the PEB’s remaining matches will be played this evening (Wednesday, October 23rd) at the Sir John Guise Indoor Complex.
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