Angula leads Amesii to maiden grand final appearance with a starring role

Civpac Amesii star Betty Angula going for a layup as her Tribes Coffee opponent tries to shut her down (Image: PED Media)

Papua New Guinea female basketball veteran Betty Angula led CivPac Amesii to secure the first grand final spot in the Port Moresby Elite Basketball [PEB] inaugural competition following a close 60-58 win over Tribes Coffee.

Named as the Most Valuable Player [MVP] in the PEB major semifinals, she said the team expected a strong contest against the Tribeswomen following their one-point win last week.

“It's a final season so we came prepared knowing well, the Tribeswomen will bring their best game on the courts as we saw in this major semifinal,” Angula said.

The PNG representative player was pleased with a double-double performance scoring 13 points, 17 rebounds,11 assists, and three steals on her statistics.

“A win is a win, but we will still go back to the drawing board to prepare for the grand final but importantly stick to our game plan.”

The team led by skipper Marca Muri saw a mixture of elite and new ballers perform a strong defense and offense combination on the courts with Angula, Betty Wong, Jenifer Haro, Maggie Evo’o and Lydia Gotuno as their starting five.

A close first quarter saw Amesii take a 2-point lead [16-14] in the first quarter before extending it to 27-24 at halftime.

Meanwhile Tribes had the experience of another top athlete Jonitha Warabe and Margaret Kevin who led upfront along with skipper Delta Kare and trailed 39-44 after third quarter.

Tribes picked up pace in the final quarter posing as a danger to their opponents sealing a 58-58 deadlock against Amesii as the clocked wind down.

After multiple missed free throws from both sides and 20 seconds to go on the shot clock, Amesii took the plunge to score the final basket that cemented Cindy Elavo-coached side’s finals spot.

“This competition has seen a lot of talented players stepping up and we know that every chance we take will be a challenge so our plans moving forward is to recover and prepare for the grand finale,” Angula added.

Meanwhile Tribes Coffee will be facing Saints Parrots next week in the PEB preliminary finals for a shot to secure the other grand final spot.