Text and image Terence Oosterwolde
PARAMARIBO — A month after losing 52-53 to Yellow Birds on March 15, Ballers Club Wanica (BCW) has made its mark in a dominant manner. The opponent was overrun on Sunday evening: 68-40. The first defeat for Yellow Birds after the women’s competition of the Surinamese Basketball Association started with four consecutive victories.
“Speed!” BCW coach Rian Jambo calls the difference between last month’s match and Sunday’s. “We have many young youth players, combined with two experienced ladies, and we have taken advantage of that,” he explains the True Time.
“The teams are evenly matched, but BCW is already going for the final”
BCW coach Rian Jambo
Still, the coach admits that he did not expect it to be so easy. “You never expect that from Yellow Birds. They have been champions for years, so you never know with them. On the other hand, they are the same ladies who have stayed and the years will count. We will have to take advantage of that.”
Despite the large win, Jambo still sees plenty of room for improvement. He calls one of the most important the “outside shots”. “I have a lot of short girls and I told them that if you can’t make it shooting, you’re not going to make it in basketball these days.”
Jambo is looking forward to the rest of the competition – there is one matchday left in the second round, after which the third and fourth rounds will be played -. “In any case, every team is evenly matched, but BCW is already going for the final. Then we will look further.”
Dominant
After losing 52-55 to De Arend on the previous match day – March 29 – BCW showed its intentions from the start on Sunday. Yellow Birds was limited to just four points in the first quarter, while the team from Hanna’s Lust even scored nineteen. That was also the case in the second period, resulting in a 38-17 lead.
Things did not get better for Yellow Birds after halftime, as the deficit increased to thirty points after three quarters: 25-55. In the last period, BCW slowed down a bit and the team could afford to bring in star players Shakya Peroti, Melnija Paal and Lakenia Bel. The large lead was not in danger. Ultimately they won 68-40.
(read more below the photo)
Chayenne Naarden, assistant coach of Yellow Birds this year, said yes afterwards the True Time that her team “did not defend well”. “And we missed a lot in attack. If you don’t score, you go behind.”
Despite the rough start, she kept hope for a turnaround. “Yes, certainly, because we never give up. We constantly urged the players to do that, but we kept missing balls, so it didn’t work out.”
Naarden does not think that this blow will mentally shake the team. “We are just going to train hard and then we will come back stronger in the next matches,” she guarantees. “So the rest have been warned.”
Lakenia Bel (two three pointers) led BCW with a team-high 21 points, well assisted by Melnija Paal with twenty and Shakya Peroti (one three pointer) with sixteen points. Chiniqua Pengel of Yellow Birds scored one gaming high 27 points, including three three-pointers.
The second round in the women’s class will conclude on April 19. At four o’clock in the afternoon, defending champion De Arend will take on Yellow Birds, followed by BCW against last-place Social Cultural Association Uitvlugt at a quarter to six in the afternoon.
Standings (after five matches): 1. Yellow Birds 9 points; 2. BCW 8 points (goal difference +83); 3. De Arend 8 points (goal difference +40); 4. SCVU 5 points.
