10 Nov 2019

Dolphins have ended Police V fairytale start of the 2019 Botswana Basketball League (BBL) with a 66-57 hard-fought victory on November 8 night at Ba Isago courts.

Police V had their eight-game winning streak halted by youthful Dolphins side in a top of the table clash between log leaders, Police and second-placed, Dolphins.

The youthful Dolphins raced out of the blocks in the first quarter leading the much experience Police 14-9.

In a game that was marred with turnovers on both sides, bad shooting and tempers flying, Police V stayed close through the second quarter, winning it 13-15, but Dolphins earlier buckets in the first half came in handy as they held on to go to the halftime interval with a lead.

Lead by the veteran guard, Churchill Barrows, Police V came back strongly in the second quarter and converted 21 baskets on the second quarter to cut the deficit to five points heading to the final quarter.

Things went haywire for Police in the final fourth quarter with Dolphins reflecting well on the offensive side of the court and dominated the fourth quarter on both ends and maintained the lead until the final buzzer.

Police were, however, their worst enemy, hitting just 12 points from the field in the final quarter.

In the absence of the league’s most valuable player, Kesaobaka Ndawanyana, who is out with the national team in Uganda, Dolphins options of going direct to the hoop were limited and had to rely on the exceptional three-point shooting skills of Joel Mothusi and Elliot Gaboitaolelwe who put up a combined 16 points from the three-point arc.

Dolphin’s point guard Gaboitaolelwe put up a man-of-the-match performance dropping 17 points and picking eight assists to guide Dolphins to a sterling performance that only needed a victory to accompany it.

In his post match interview, Dolphins head coach, Trynos Moyo credited his team for a spirited performance adding that it was a great achievement as they entered the game as underdogs.

 He said it was always a good motivation to record a win against the log leaders, who had a 100 per cent win rate percentage as it some confidence boost that might be carried on in the league campaign, but he, however, cautioned his team not to be carried away by the win since there was still a lot of ground to cover.

“With the 2019 season drawing to an end, it is crucial for the team to bolster their playoff position and victory against Police could not have come at a better time as it is always difficult to play against season campaigners like Police since they are well resourced”, he said.

He said the odds, were stuck against his team going into the game due to the absence of his talisman, Nkawanyana but credited his youthful side for stepping up to the challenges and ensuring that they did not get intimidated by Police’s undefeated status. ENDS