Immediately killer three pointer with two seconds on the shot clock De Arend captain Emile la Rose dealt the final blow to the Uitvlugt Social Cultural Association (SCVU) on Sunday evening. “Score!” La Rose responds opposite the True Time when asked what was going through his mind when he aimed the ball. “I had no other choice. I had to score.” His three-pointer made the score 83-79 with 37 seconds to play. SCVU, which was unable to score in the remaining time, is therefore no longer undefeated in the men’s main class of the Surinamese Basketball Association (SBA). “I would rather lose now than in the play-off,” says SCVU coach Lesly Dhanradj. The 2025 semi-champion, who suffered her first defeat after five consecutive victories, remains the leader.
Text and image Terence Oosterwolde
La Rose, who has remained loyal to De Arend all these years and has been there in good and bad times, ended with one gaming high 37 points. Of these, the three points with just over half a minute to play were the most important, as he brought the difference, which had been one point (80-79) due to two free throws from SCVU’s Safiero Fraser, back to four points.
On the counterattack, SCVU’s Byorn Ewyk tried to counter directly, but missed three pointer. With 13.4 seconds left, La Rose made one of the two free throws after a foul (84-79), after which teammate Jaheim Mac Donald out of bounce of SCVU managed to intercept. With a free throw, Mac Donald set the final score at 85-79.
Positive things
For De Arend it was only the second victory this season – the first was achieved on March 22 in the second round against Koi Carper – compared to five defeats. La Rose about what he liked within his team on Sunday evening: “Communication… we handled that well. And especially the defense and just working for each other.”
For a moment it looked as if De Arend would leave the field as a loser again. However, the team showed enormous fighting spirit and steadily managed to catch up. The urge to win, according to La Rose, brought about the turnaround. “We have already lost too much this season,” says the captain.
Play-off
In principle, De Arend still has a catch-up match against SCVU, after their third round meeting did not progress, because the walking march passed the Ismay van Wilgen Sports Hall on April 9. However, the SBA has not yet made a decision on whether that game will be played. In fact, it is only of administrative importance as the cards have already been shuffled and the play-off picture is complete.
In the postseason De Arend awaits a confrontation with Koi Carper for a place in the final battle against SCVU, which as the leader is automatically in the final. La Rose realizes that Koi Carper won three of his team’s four games in the regular season, but De Arend does not think he has a chance. “With the same effort on Sunday evening, we have a chance. We have to keep communicating. In any case, we will also have to evaluate to see where our negative points were. Then just work on that and it will work out anyway,” the captain expects.
La Rose thinks the competition with only three teams is “a little less”. “I thought they could have just done what they did last year: merge the first division and then make the split,” said the captain of De Arend.
Game flow
In the first quarter it was the same. From two free throws, La Rose brought De Arend to 20-18 with 2:09, but with back-to-back three-pointers van Ewyk and captain Kofi Vreden, SCVU took a 24-20 lead with 1:22 left. Two free throws by La Rose with 5.5 seconds left the first period 27-26 for SCVU.
The leader struck immediately at the start of the second quarter create a gap with the opponent by making the first seven points. Occasionally the lead even reached ten points, but eventually teams went to the locker rooms with a 51-44 score for SCVU after two free throws from La Rose with three seconds on the clock.
At 6:03 in the third period, SCVU took its largest lead after a basket by Jahmit Jambo: 61-48. However, De Arend countered with a 12-4 run, with Demien Maarbach accounting for seven points, including a three-point play. At 1:39 the score was 60-63 after two free throws by Laqwyn Brondenstein, but Vreden made the final basket for SCVU with 54.7 seconds left: 65-60.
Energizing final phase
Right at the beginning of the last one quarter La Rose asserted herself. First he scored one at 9:18 three pointer (63-65), after which he tied the score at 65-65 at 8:54. With three free throws, Vreden gave SCVU some breathing room (68-65), but with 7:01 it was even again (68-all) after a three pointer from McDonald.
Teams then took turns taking the lead: first SCVU through two baskets from Fraser (72-70), but with a three pointer gave La Rose De Arend the lead again: 73-72 with 4:41. Elburg then tied the score at 73-73 with a free throw. After Enzo Zeefuik brought De Arend to 75-73 with 3:28 left, Fraser and Jambo missed opportunities with two missed free throws each to help their team take the lead.
For De Arend, dark clouds seemed to gather one after the other turnovers by Tariq Melcherts and Zeefuik. In addition, the team lost 2:27 to Brondenstein, who committed his fifth foul. Jambo used only one free throw: 74-75.
Melcherts made his earlier one with 2:18 turnover and missed misses by scoring in the bucket – 77-74 – while having a crucial steal at 1:36. Jambo made a foul on him, after which the center used one free throw: 78-74. As he has done so many times this season, Ewyk shot one at 1:18 three pointer hit for SCVU, which cut the tension: 77-78.
After Mac Donald and Fraser each scored two free throws at 1:09 and 1:01, the game followed with 37 seconds left. dagger van La Rose – 83-79 – where he aimed the ball over Jambo and Ronaldinho Esajas. The Arend captain and Mac Donald then each had a free throw, making the final score 85-79.
Arbitration
Dhanradj attributes the defeat to “the focus” within his team. “Since the second one, actually quarter “It didn’t go well and that cost me the match,” he says. The coach admits that his players were also concerned with the referees Romero Sabajo, Darryle Cotino and Rinaldo Naarendorp. Ewyk and Fraser were punished with a technical foul by Sabajo and Naarendorp respectively.
Dhanradj: “I actually don’t want to talk about the referees at all, but it was very clear. You can talk a million things to the players, but that man knows that he has not done something and gets irritated. Whether it is a fifty-fifty call is then you live with it, but some things are open. I’m not saying that the referees made me lose, but it could be much better.”
This applies to both the referees and his basketball players. “My players have to learn that they should not look at the referees, but just play basketball. If you just play basketball and don’t touch the referees, you can achieve much more. And that was a great lesson for them today.”
La Rose (four three pointers) became top scorer with one gaming high 37 points, while Zeefuik and Maarbach each had eleven points. Ewyk led SCVU with one team-high seventeen points, including five three pointers. Jambo had thirteen and Fraser ten points.
SCVU (5-1) will play defending champion Koi Carper on Thursday evening at 9:15 PM, who lost in the previous three rounds: 73-75 (first round), 69-83 (second round) and 72-76 (third round). Koi Carper is second with ten points from seven games. De Arend has nine points from seven games. SCVU leads with eleven points from six matches.
