Butibum claim fifth straight title with win over Unitech

The National Sports

BUTIBUM Bees claimed their fifth straight title with a 70-49 victory against the Unitech Bulls in the Lae Amateur Basketball Association men’s grand final over the weekend.
Butibum opened the scoring with a quick pass from Amos Bobo which found Russell Stafford under the board for the first of his eight points.
Unitech replied through Nobert Odis and Captain Ryan Tetemo to keep pace with the Bees.
Butibum took an 18-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Butibum continued to dominate with good ball rotation around the three-point perimeter. They found Mathew Jomkam and Jordon Geasa for three-pointers and buzzed to a 51-30 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Sensing that their title hopes were fading, Unitech bagged consecutive three-pointers through Raphael Arpa, Edward Kosi and Nelson Thom three minutes from fulltime, but it was too late.
Butibum’s Jordan Geasa nailed a demoralising three-pointer with one minute on the clock to seal the title.
Meanwhile, Unitech claimed their 14th title with a 60-41 win over ESS New Dawn in the women’s grand final.
The first quarter was evenly contested with New Dawn’s defence thwarting Unitech’s attack.
Making a comeback to competitive basketball after a lengthy lay-off, veteran former national representative Martha Bonga Narakou was named in the New Dawns starting five.
Narakou stamped her mark and grabbed six consecutive scores to give the underdogs a 23-22 lead at half-time.
In the third quarter, New Dawn maintained their composure to lead 30-28.
New Dawn’s veteran point guard VhastyYamsop and power forward captain Sonia Yawasing and Sharon Naru performed on par with Unitech’s experienced championship campaigners in Louisia Wallace, Jenny Magatu, Nellie Jamsop and Viviane Gawac.
After ankle injuries to New Dawns defenders Sonia Yawasing and Sharon Naru, the momentum swung in Unitech’s as they went on to score quick points.
A number of errors and high turnovers allowed Unitech to capitalise in the final quarter and run away with the win.