| LMA players (white) on the attack. |
The inter-high school basketball tournament called “All Step”, bringing together nine high schools from the Analamanga basketball league, resumed yesterday on the LMA field, with the victory of the protégés of coach Mémé or Aimé Randria, experienced coach of the High School modern Ampefiloha, in front of the Andohalo high school students with a score of 63-61 (15-9, 17-20, 14-19, 17-13).
The atmosphere is at its height with cries of support from supporters of both teams. The first quarter was dominated by Ampefiloha high school with the demonstration of Rino Randimbiarivelo, member of the Ankoay U18 national team during the Afrobasket 2021 in Madagascar and leader of the LMA boys.
By alternating three-point shots and intermittent dunks, the Ampefiloha players closed the first quarter with a score of 15-9. The second quarter was hotly contested with the display of Rino’s talent, who continued to widen the gap, 17-9, 17-11, 19-17. After four minutes of play, the Andohalo high school students pulled the score back to 21-all. As a master tactician, coach Mémé asked for an initial timeout to plug the gaps in his team. The highlight of the Andohalo high school students continued and they led for the first time in the score, 25-23, 26-26 then 26-25, then 29-28, end of the second quarter.
In pain
The situation changed from the third quarter. The Andohalo high school students created a surprise by leading strongly: 32-29, 32-31 then 34-31. With the support of their supporters, the Andohalo boys took the lead 48-46 at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was unbreathable for both teams, especially for the high school hosting the meeting. Midway through the fourth quarter, LMA trailed 54-57 then 54-59.
The presence of Rino on the field changed the situation because with his experience and his marksmanship, LMA pulled back to 59 all with 34 seconds remaining in regulation time. With 30 seconds left in the match, Rino got two shots: 61-59, then 61-61. Rino got two new shots to lead 63-61, end of the game.
After the meeting, Aimé Randria or coach Mémé, coach of the LMA, showed his joy with a sigh of relief. “We recorded our first victory at home. Rino’s presence and experience brought serenity despite the victory gained through pain. My players followed the instructions and they began to better combine their efforts despite a few errors on the pitch,” confides coach Mémé. As for Johns Nomenjanahary Rafenomanana, coach of the Andohalo high school students, criticized the refereeing: “We are beaten by refereeing decisions which have harmed us. My players deserved to win but the presence of coach Mémé influenced certain decisions of the referees.”
Donné Raherinjatovo