Troopers storm into final

Thato Kala | Monday December 2, 2013 15:51

Troopers will have to wait for a midweek third series tie between last year's national champions, Spartans and Dolphins.

Spartans narrowly won 57-49 on Saturday night in a rescheduled match that had been postponed the previous day because of poor lighting.

With just two minutes left on Saturday, Spartans' trump card, Robert Mosalakatane hit a three-pointer before another fast break that saw them stretch their lead to five points.

Dolphins had a chance to narrow the margin, but their point guard Nathan Wakandwa missed four successive free-throws. They started the first quarter strongly and took a 16-8 lead.

The second quarter was tightly contested with Spartans raising their game to reduce the gap to just five points. They trailed 28-23 but looked poised to make a stunning comeback. But that was not to be as Dolphins turned on the heat in the last two quarters to secure a 55-38 win.

The two teams will now square off in a third match that will decide who faces Troopers in next weekend's final.

Peter Ubakar of Spartans admitted his team did not stamp its authority against Dolphins. 'We did not come out strongly; it was a good game though. We are defending champions and I believe we can do it again. It is only a matter of working hard and correcting our mistakes,' he told The Monitor Sport.

Troopers' player, Philani Ncube said they would welcome a repeat of last season's final where Spartans ended their 12-year reign as champions. 

This season, their only loss came from Spartans after a 19-match unbeaten run. 'We have experience and a lot of depth in our team. It is a good blend of youth and veterans so I am confident we will bag this one,' Ncube said.  

In the women competition, BDF V beat UB Relics 48-45 in the first match on Saturday. They need to win the revere fixture to book a place in the final. Defending champions Police V are already in the final.