Bricks have snatched the Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust (Meet) Basketball Tournament crown from Magang’a with a narrow 49-47 triumph during a fiercely contested final at Blantyre Youth Centre (BYC) last weekend.
Bricks led 15-12 and 23-19 in the first two quarters, but Magang’a fought hard to turn the tables with a 37-34 lead in the third segment.
Onwards, it appeared as if Magang’a were on their way to a comfortable title defence when they extended their lead by six baskets towards the end of the match. However, two quick three-pointers from Victor Jere and Dumisani Kawiya restored parity before Weluzani Chingota added two more baskets to secure the victory for Bricks.
Jere and Hope Chisamanga dominated the ball for their respective teams. They were both involved in all facets of their teams’ offense to end up with 13 individual points apiece.
Chisamanga was so desperate to help Magang’a defend the title even with only two seconds remaining, he found himself under the hoop to rescue his team from the jaws of defeat. Nevertheless, the ball was still on his fingertips when the clock hit to all zeros. And with that, Bricks had a win.
“We are lucky to have secured the victory. Otherwise, it was a 50-50 affair; it could have gone either way. But it feels great to be crowned champions,” said Bricks captain Chrispin Makaka.
Bricks received a trophy and K65 000 (US$144) first prize while second-placed Magang’a got K40 000 (US$89). Cobbe Barracks confined Lox 360 to 78-57 thrashing in the third-placed encounter to deserve the K20 000 (US$44) third prize.
Lady Hawks thumped Karibu Academy 27-8 to emerge as champions in the ladies’ category.
Meet coordinator Karen Price said they will return with sponsorship next year because they were impressed with the conduct of the participants during the competition, which was organised to commemorate the World Environmental Day under the theme Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet, Consume With Care.
