Newcomers in the Port Moresby Elite Basketball Competition (PEB), the Wame Blood (WB)Transport Kutubu Lakers Women’s Basketball Team, remain undefeated after a close 73-66 win over Civpac Amesi.
Despite joining the competition late, the Lakers have produced great results since making their debut and the win highlighted their experience and strength coming into the competition.
The Kutubu side started their campaign with a 39-34 win over the Northwest Wizards. They then beat the Pirates 53-48 and edged out Civpac Amesi 73-66 at the Sir John Guise Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Lakers now sit at the top of the women’s competition ladder with 9 points.
The former National Souths Basketball League (NSBL) champions are using their experience to take on each team one at a time with firm court position and their defensive play.
PNG Women’s Basketball Team’s Most Valuable Player, Betty Angula, led the WB-sponsored Lakers against her former team, Civpac Amesi. She won the Player of the Match award with her impressive performance, scoring, passing, and rebounding.
Angula scored 23 points, grabbed 21 rebounds, and made 14 assists, helping her team secure their third win. Her leadership and skills played a key role in the Lakers’ victory.
Both teams started strong, scoring basket after basket in the first quarter, which ended in a 16-16 tie.
The shootout continued in the second quarter, with Amesi taking a one point lead 35-34 at halftime. After the break, the Lakers fought back and led 56-51 at the end of the third quarter. They held onto that lead in the final quarter to seal the 73-66 win.
The thrilling encounter captured the attention of the crowd, who came to witness the launch of the Golden Jubilee Oldies Basketball Challenge. The game brought smiles and excitement to basketball fans in PNG, with both teams showing passion and skills.
WB Transport Kutubu Lakers Coach John Fred express his gratitude towards the team who made an impressive performance despite being the new team in the competition.
“WB Transport Kutubu Lakers is the new team to the Port Moresby Elite Basketball Competition. We made our debut last week against the North West Wizards with a win.”
“Since we joined the comp late, we were rushed to play two games in this week. We played against the Pirates on Monday and on Tuesday we played Civpac Amesi. Which we made back to back victory,” he said.
“On behalf of the team WB Transport Kutubu Lakers I would like to say thank you to our Major Sponsor Mr. Johnny Yawari the man behind WB Transport, our hard-working team manager Ms. Maggie Yawari who always puts in the efforts to attend our training sessions and games. And yes, congratulations to the ladies for the three straight win,” he affirmed.