The 2021 Accra Basketball League (ABL) Men’s Division II Playoffs got off on a physical note as TUSK Foundation engaged Tudu Galaxy in a tough matchup.
TUSK ended the close contest with a 56-50 win over Galaxy earlier today at the Prisons Court in Cantonments in Accra to take a 1-0 win in the three way battle for the Division title alongside Ghana Navy.
Match Report
Tusk started the game with a 5-0 run that had Fred Asante score a three pointer with Henry Horlali adding two more. Raymond Affram scored all three free throws after getting fouled on a three point shot attempt.
Mohammed Brimah and Gustav Asiedu traded baskets and Muhulis Futa scored a layup. Tusk got points on the board with Horlali and Asante scoring from the free throw line. Affram raced to score a layup to beat the buzzer; Galaxy trailed 10-17 at the end of the first quarter.
Delali Cofie scored one of two free throws to open the second quarter. Galaxy responded with layups off strong drives from Futa and Mubarak Mohammed. Tudu trailed 14-18 four minutes into the quarter.
Horlali scored a three pointer as Tusk took over the quarter from the midpoint. Galaxy had a strong finish to close out the quarter with Affram and Divine Quartey scoring on fast break layups. Tusk led 29-18 at half time.
Galaxy scored four quick points to open the quarter with Paul Primo scoring. Horlali scored for Tusk and Affram completed a three point play to keep the score close. Asante scored two points on a drive but got fouled hard and had to get medical attention. Asante scored a three pointer before suffering a relapse of the shoulder injury after converting a three point shot. Primo scored for Tusk and Lawal Ibrahim responded with a three pointer from the top of the key. The teams traded baskets but Galaxy missed a handful of layup attempts to tie the game they trailed 34-40.
Benjamin Ashitei and Julius Benon scored to trim the team’s deficit to three points before Affram tied the game at 40 with a three pointer. Ashitei put Tusk up by two with a short jumper and extended the lead to five points before Bismark Addai reduced Galaxy’s deficit to three.
Asiedu’s fast break layup and three pointer put Tusk up 51-44 with 3:59 minutes remaining. Galaxy responded with another strong run with Rafiq Brimah scoring as Tudu trailed 50-53 with 2:17 minutes remaining.
Ashitei completed a three point play to give Galaxy a six point lead to end the contest.
| By Yaw Adjei-Mintah @YawMintYM on Twitter |
