NCD win U18 champs

By JACK AMI
Basketball Federation Papua New Guinea newcomers National Capital District, are the undisputed men’s and women’s champions of this year’s National Under-18 Championships.
At the Taurama Aquatic Centre on Saturday, it was an all-NCD affair as they easily beat city rivals PNG Men’s Basketball League (PMBL).
NCD Amateur Basketball Association (NCDABA) claimed the men’s major honours, beating PMBL 69-64 in a sterling finish.
It was a neck-to-neck affair decided only in the final two minutes of the last quarter.
In the women’s finals, NCD were just too strong for Port Moresby Women’s Basketball League (PWBL), dishing out a 67-33 hammering of the premier wome’s association in a one-sided affair.
The newcomers breezed through the tournament unbeaten and walked away with the major prizes.
The matches were a showdown featuring some of the city’s top junior players.
The newly-established association (NCDABA) split from PMBL and PWBL, with players moving from the established leagues.
The breakaway was led by Flames Basketball Club.
A majority of the players had played for premier clubs in city’s top basketball competitions and their standard and level was much higher than the smaller centres as the games progressed in the U18 championships.
The BFPNG accepted the affiliation of NCDABA as a new affiliate despite it not having run an active competition in the city.
In the semifinals, PMBL were given the win on a silver platter by Kupiano, who were unable to play due to their religious restrictions on the Sabbath.
NCD toppled crowd-pleasers Daru 97-66 to qualify for grand show down, while in the women’s division, PMWL escaped from Mt Hagen 59-50 and NCD tamed Kerema 71- 47.
In men’s third and fourth place playoffs, Daru Barramundis were too smart for Abau Kupiano, outclassing the Western team for a 79- 67 victory.
In the women’s, Mt Hagen beat Kerema 67-51 to claim third place.  Other centres that attended were Madang, Central and Simbu, who brought their untried talents to compete for the chance to be selected for the national U18 training squad.