RA Rockettes finish third in Pepsi Cup

RANOADIDAS (RA) ROCKETTES defeated Sally Beauty Saloon 58-43 to settle for third place in the women's division of the 2009 Brunei Pepsi Cup last night at the Brunei Basketball Association (BBA) court in Batu Bersurat.

Nur Hafizah Hj Abdul Sidek topscored for 21 points and Lee Wen Juan added 18 points for the RA Rockettes while captain Wong Yeng Yiing led Sally Beauty Saloon with 21 points.

The championship match between Muara Gas and Ismakom will be played on Sunday at 5.30pm.

RA Rockettes raced to an 18-12 lead before ending the half at 25-19.

Nur Hafizah scored 14 points in the final period, including three treys. She made a four-point play off Sandy Yu to make it 51-38, with less than four minutes remaining. Her last triple sealed the win.

"I found the team played very well today. They listened to instructions and converted their plays," said Chong Kam Long, coach of RA Rockettes.

Chong also pointed out that his team did not have any national player.

"This team have been around for three years and we need more time to build the team. Our players are mostly students and they need to get more training to prepare for future tournaments. We also have to find a regular venue to practice," added Chong.

In the second game, Babes Boutique demolished De' Lightz Coffee Shop 134-64 for their second consecutive win in Group D.

Hammering Auto Jaya 91-51 in their opening game, Babes Boutique didn't put on the brakes as they are prepared to face White Heaven on Friday. Both teams have advanced into the quarterfinals.

"Our performance was good last night (Wednesday) and we are ready for our next game.

"We just have to adjust our players a bit more but we need to win our next game to top our group going into the quarterfinals," said Kaka Espartero, head coach of Babes Boutique.

Babes Boutique, whose players are mostly from ABMS, demolished Denko's 143-60 in last year's Aewon's Sultan Cup.

Tonight's games will see Team Wayne 'B' take on Bukit Ladang as both battle to take top honours in Group C at 7pm while the second game will put unbeaten Linktech against winless Gadong Boy in Group A at 8.30pm.(YCL)

The Brunei Times