| The Ampefiloha high school students are aiming for a third victory today in Mahamasina. |
The Sainte Famille Mahamasina private high school today hosts the return match against the Ampefiloha modern high school, girls and boys.
The basketball players of Ampefiloha Modern High School (LMA), who played five matches with two victories and three defeats to their credit, are under pressure today. From 8:30 a.m. they face the boys from the Sainte Famille private high school. It is a match counting for the eighth day of the inter-high school basketball tournament, also called “All Step”, which the Analamanga Basketball League has been organizing for more than four weeks in Antananarivo.
Since the start of the tournament on April 3, matches have taken place every Wednesday and Saturday. Orange ball fans came in large numbers, high school students from each participating club, to support theirs.
The basketball players from Sainte Famille Mahamasina, who play on their soil, are the clear favorites. Having played five matches with 3 victories and 2 defeats, they have 8 points and are ranked second behind the Sainte Chantal high school which remains undefeated in four matches. If they repeat their last performance last Saturday April 20 against the high school students of Sainte Chantal Soanierana, overcoming the protégés of Aimé Randria or the LMA coach, coach Mémé, is just a simple formality. But it’s only on paper.
In sports, anything can happen and nothing is a foregone conclusion. LMA basketball players played five matches, recording 2 victories and suffering three defeats. They are under pressure today because in the event of defeat, they occupy fourth place in Pool A behind Sainte Chantal, Sainte Famille and Andohalo high school.
Monitored and padlocked
Since the start of the tournament until now, Ampefiloha players have shown up and down results. The presence of Rino Randimbiarivelo, member of the U18 national team for Afrobasket 2021 in Madagascar, does not weigh heavily on all the matches. His presence on the pitch is essential for his team, but he cannot change the course of the match alone.
Monitored and padlocked by the opposing team, his room for maneuver is very limited despite some technical prowess and his free throw skills. His teammates are limited technically and the weak point of his team is the absence of three or four tall players to ensure the rebound, whether defensively or offensively.
“We are obliged to achieve a good result today. Our weakness lies in the size of the majority of my players. For the match, you need patience while moving the ball. We will try to run the attack well by managing the 24 second time of possession and try to score. This match is of capital importance because facing the Sainte Chantal players to close the group stages will be another pair of challenges that will have to be managed with caution,” confides coach Mémé.
Donné Raherinjatovo