| Sports |
Butibam reign supreme on Lae
basketball court
By SAMPSON BONAI
STEAMSHIPS Hardware Butibam reigned supreme by winning the Lae
Basketball Association men’s crown by beating NS Busu 59-56 on
Saturday.
It was double trouble for NS Busu who also lost to Unitech Bulls
61-55 in the women’s grand final.
It was a tight affair in the men’s encounter down to the final
minutes.
NS Busu was leading 53-50 with three minutes to spare when lofty
Butibam centre Russel Stafford sand four pointers to over take
the lead and held on to beat NS Busu 59-56 right on fulltime.
Lofty Butibam players Darolen Balamus, Kila Giali, Emmanuel Ahi,
Christopher Bogan, Peter Buala and Russel Stafford linked well
in the mid-court with accurate passes and ran rings around their
opponents in the first three quarters to surge ahead.
NS Busu player/coach Bob Aaron took charge of the players in the
third quarter and maintained control as the game intensified
into the final quarters and made Butibam worried when they took
over the lead in the fourth quarter.
Malcolm Gunther, John Kawa, Perry Aron, Junior Oscar and Edwin
Buala all linked up well and provided a strong counter attack to
foil Butibam’s fighting spirit but their efforts went downa the
wire as the win slipped under their fingers to go down 59-56.
Jubilant coach Cassey Stafford said the back-to-back grand final
win was a morale booster to the young side and thanked all the
players and the sponsor Steamships Hardware for their support.
NS Busu player/coach Bob Aaron blamed the referee for not
controlling the game properly.
 
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