Friends were heroines at play unfit for heart

CAB and Vagos met in Funchal in a match that was described by the Amigas coach, João Pedro Vieira, as "the second of ten finals" that his team will have to do in the second round of the regular phase of LFP. Taj McWilliams, the veteran American pole, had also mentioned, in the game preview, that the match was "fundamental" to the ambitions of the Friends. Therefore, there was much expectation of what would be the provision of the CAB, in the certainty that they had a great team ahead, very organized and well trained, who did not come to Madeira to facilitate the lives of Madeirans. The game began best for the home team, which won the first period by 20-13. This result was essentially the result of two factors: a great defensive attitude on the part of the CAB players, who were cancelling the main weapons of the opponents, and a great serenity in the attack, which was allowing the CAB to find the best launch options. Alternating the inner moves well with the outer launch, the CAB knew how to gain superiority in the match, intelligently exploring its strengths. In the second period, the story of the game was different. The Vagos appeared much more determined and aggressive, forcing the CAB's defense to commit many faults, some of which were completely unreasonable. Schera Sampson accumulated her third foul at this time of the game, while Carolina Escorcio and Carla Freitas, key players in the house, made two, each. The CAB attack was also many holes below what had been at the first stop, with the house not finding their way into the basket and complicating their own lives. The impression was that the Cab was mischoosing the rhythm of its game, because it accelerated in situations where it did not need to do so and was not approving the effectiveness of the opportunities (and there were some) that were given to it by the opponent. Adding to all this, Vagos was of great merit in the way he was attacking and defending, conquering precious points and managing to stop the offensive wave of friends. At the interval it was found that the CAB had lost the second period by 17-20, but it was still ahead of the marker by 37-33. In the third period, the CAB was again dominated by Vagos. Very limited in the defense for fault problems and to demonstrate some difficulties in the rotations, the CAB players went 'to the roles' with the Vagos attacks. Coach João Pedro well tried a number of defensive solutions, but none of them were having the desired effect, which was to stop the Vagos launchers and allow the Friends to assert themselves in the fight for the jumps. With some pieces below what they can produce, the CAB was also difficult to score points, and the advantage gained in the first period and defended in the second was now reduced to two points, with the marked at the end of the last period to mark 50-48, in favor of the CAB. The fourth period was one of emotions as long ago it did not feel in the CAB Pavilion. The scorer had constant oscillations, with the teams never disarming the victory in the match. This indefension in the result during the last second of the match, when the scorer was tied to 62, the result of a triple marked by 'our' Mary (who today showed, another evz, to be the best in the League!). Taj McWilliams, who was missed after the CAB stole the ball from Vagos, went to the free throw line. The first one spoke and the pavilion shook with the prospect of seeing a game that the house deserved to win if they escaped in an inglorious way. He scored the second one, and the pavilion exploded with joy. Final result: CAB 63, Vagos 62. In individual terms: Cintia France, Catarina Freitas, Carla Relva, Taj McWilliams (16 points, MVP of the match), Ana Jardim, Maria João (18 points, 6 assists), Diana Melim, Monica Luis, Carla Freitas (13 points), Schera Sampson (7 points, 6 caveats), Carolina Escorcio (3 points, 10 rebounds, 5 ball robberies).