CYO and Adenta Leopards beat Tema Youth and Reformers respectively in the opening rounds of the Greater Accra Men’s Division II Basketball League on Saturday May 7 at the Lebanon House in Tudu, Accra.
CYO beat Tema Youth 45-37 in the opening game of the 2016 season which commenced after the original start date had to be moved due to technical reasons. After the Division I side lost 46-51 to Navy on Friday, Tema Youth’s junior side suffered a similar fate.
It was difficult to separate the teams in the opening quarters with the game’s lead hovering just over a single possession. CYO led Tema 11-10 in the first quarter and 20-19 after the second quarter.
The game was characterized by loads of missed three point shots and bad turnovers for long stretches and generally failed to hit the level of quality exhibited in the games played on Friday.
That didn’t last long as Leopards beat Reformers 68-65 in an enthralling game which was a far cry from the first game. Three point shots fell consistently, ball movement was great and individual brilliance shone through the length of the game which went into overtime.
Burly Center Charles Annan did a lot of damage in the post with Reformers Ashietey Ollenu going toe to toe with Leopards Shooting Guard Emmanuel Wolff. Reformers rallied from a 33-46 deficit to even the tie at 55 and send the game into the new season’s first overtime game.
However, Leopards had backup Center David Pinto come up with key baskets down the stretch to give Leopards a deserved win.
