Friends end Second Phase in the leadership of Group B

The male CAB team went to Maia to play against local formation the last game of the Second Phase of the ‘B’ Group of the Men's League. Although Maia has already confirmed its descent to the lower echelon, the game required from the Madeirans total concentration, as the Maia is a team that is worth much more than its position in the classification table. The game began best for the Friends, who entered the game with a partial of 0-8 and reached the end of the first half in front of the scorer by 11-18. In the second half, the CAB came back in better and placed the marker on 11-27 with only three minutes played. At the end of the period, the CAB continued its competitive stance, from which individual and collective solutions emerged to which those in the house were unable to respond. So, no surprise, when the teams picked up at the locker rooms, the Madeirans were still ahead of the result by 26-51, a punctual difference that mirrored what was going on inside the field. In the third period, the CAB returned to the triple field, making several long-distance releases. For this reason and also due to some mismatch of the house, the Madeirans won by more than three dozen points (32-68) in the middle of the third half. A time-out requested, then, by the home coach did not significantly reverse the course of events. On the contrary, the CAB managed to maintain its advantage and reached the end of the half-hour game to lead by the result of 44-79. In the fourth and final half, with the game practically sentenced, the formation of the CAB did not lower its arms. On the contrary, those guided by João Paulo Silva always respected the opponent, as is his professional duty, and continued to approach the game seriously. Even losing the partial, the Madeirans won the game by 74-97. With this victory, the CAB cements its leadership of the ‘B’ Group, which means it enters the participation of the Men’s League playoffs, which begin next weekend in the seventh position. This means that in the first round the Friends will have the Benfica formation, with the first two games to be played in Lisbon.