Sharks’ vs Valcanico
The first match up was between the Sharks and the undefeated 3-0 Valcanicos, the Sharks tried to give them a run for their money. Charles Boozer who is a guard and a key factor to the Sharks started off hot with a deep pull up three. Boozer wasn’t the only star on the Sharks throwing up 3’s, Malik Miller who scored a total of 20 and Joel Almeida ending the game with 25 points were making their points from the 3-point line also. Jules Tavares who was injured for a game and a half, put on his jersey and played well. He put his pain away and started the second quarter making his 3’s. The Sharks guard Joel Almeida put a stop to Nasir Core with his lock down defense. The Sharks were up 14 points ending the first half 51-37. The Valcanicos must have snapped out of it because, Nasar Core showed up the second half with a spectacular game pure usual. Once again Nasir Core scores 33 points with the help of Jawan Stephany pushing threes scoring 22 points, and Fidel Mendonça who also scored 22. The game became maybe the game of the season, the final quarter, the Sharks and Valcanicos went head-to-head, back and forth to the point where they went over time 89-89. As they played their OT minutes both teams were still neck to neck. But fortunately for the Valcanicos, Nasir Core had enough and didn’t want to play a double OT. Core hits a half court buzzer beater for the win with .2 seconds left on the clock, leaving the final score 99-96.
Warriors vs Gorillas
Game two started off well for the Gorillas but ended up with another loss, this time against the Warriors 105-92. Even though the Gorillas played well, they still ended up short. Star guard Allex Austin played yet another phenomenal game scoring 35 points. The leading rebounder of the Praia league ended the game with 13 rebounds. Even with the help of Mario Williams, Shane DaRosa, and Rodrigues Palmer who scored 26 points, they could not stop the Warriors. Warriors star player Josh Fraizer danced around each and every player in the game scoring 41 points, 15 assists and 4 rebounds. His unself game and high basketball IQ helped tremendously. Andre Jackson who finished with 15 points rushed the boards all game and played a big part at both ends of the court with such confidence. Warriors Cape Verdean guard Keven Gomes, 6’11 center dominated the boards scoring 17 points and 7 rebounds. In the fourth quarter the Gorillas had a little bit of a comeback, it was a little too late with only 3 minutes left in the game.
CB Cidadela vs Panthers
The primetime game of the night was a close one. The CB Cidadela made sure that the Panthers didn’t win their first game against them. Paris Collins, star guard and Praia League’s round 1, first pick showed the gym why he was selected first in the overall draft. He finished last nights game with 22 points, 5 rebounds and only 2 assists. CB star Kobe Reeves finally played against his cousin Taras Carter, it was quite a show to see them go head to head. Kobe took home the win scoring 29 points to help CB win. Taras Cater lead the team showing leadership verbally and physically scoring 20 points. Nineteen-year-old Panther star Nick Manor Hall had a quiet game, usually scoring over 20 points. Last night was not his night, he missed shots that are usually easy for him. With the struggle and yet another loss Hall scored 11 points. The panthers are struggling to get their first win in this league, hopefully they can get it together on Wednesday Night. The final score was 83-73, CB Cidadela is now 2-2 and Pathers are 0-4.
Altheah "Al B" Ramos
Praia League Sideline Reporter