Tema Youth Junior League reaches home stretch

The Tema Youth Junior Basketball League enters its 6th and final match day on Sunday 15 September 2013.

The four-team league, played only on Sundays, has undoubtedly provided young and upcoming basketball players with a platform to show what they are capable of.

Competing teams are: Community Four (C4), Community Two (C2), Community Seven (C7) and Tema Manhean, nicknamed Tema New Town (TNT).

So far, the five weeks of matches have given lovers of basketball a lot to be excited about. Here are the results from the 1st Round.

Sunday 28 July 2013 C4 45 TNT 29

Sunday 28 July 2013 C2 39 C7 29

Sunday 4 August 2013 TNT 16 C2 22

Sunday 4 August 2013 C7 36 C4 38

Sunday 11 August 2013 TNT 23 C7 26

Sunday 11 August 2013 C4 30 C2 21

The 2nd Round in particular produced some very exciting encounters.

The game between C4 and C7 on Sunday 1 September, 2013 was uncompromising and closely-fought right from jump ball till the end of the fourth quarter. C4 looked a pale shadow of themselves and C7 should have handed them their first defeat of the league.

However, the fouling out of one of C7’s key players, Samuel Adjaloko, coupled with a number of unforced turnovers, proved to be their undoing. The game ended 35 – 34 in favour of C4.

The second game of the day was equally exciting. C2 thought they had their game against TNT under wraps after they had taken a comfortable lead.

But TNT, full of fighting spirit, clawed back and reduced their deficit to 4 points with about 1:30 mins to go. They surprisingly wasted two golden opportunities to tie the game.

C2 kept their cool and finally overcame TNT 32 – 26.

The league entered Match Day 5 on Sunday 8 September 2013 with C7 and C2 facing off in the first game. C7 took an early lead but allowed C2 to fight back and win the game 35 – 29.

TNT, still filled with the fighting spirit they displayed against C2 the previous week, went into their game against C4 determined to cause a major upset. And they did cause an upset, beating C4 33 -30 in the only game so far to have travelled into extra time.

It was sweet revenge for TNT as the recorded their first victory against the hitherto unbeaten C4.

C4 tops the league table with 9 points, followed by C2 also with 9, C7 with 6, and TNT with 6.

Match Day 6: Sunday 15 September, 2013.

Game 1: TNT vrs C7 3:00 pm

Game 2: C4 vrs C2 4:00 pm