Defense and union lead Friends to deserved victory

The women's CAB team faced Vagos' training in the first game of the Women's League Finals. The event, which takes place in the Azores, brings together the four best teams of this year's edition of the Portuguese League, namely Sportiva, Vagos, CAB and Lombos. The game was not easy for the CAB, not only due to the tension that is natural to exist in the final stages, but also due to the high quality of the opponent. The game began with the two teams showing great nervousness, which is normal in the final stages of the competitions. At an early stage of the meeting, both the CAB and Vagos turned to their inner game. On the side of the Friends, who lined up in white, Ashley Bruner and Sofia Silva were the most requested. In Vagos, Jessica Lawson was the most involved. In defensive aspects, the CAB was superior to the Vagos and caused, in the opponent, several losses of ball without release. It should be noted, in the first period, that whenever the CAB accelerated the game, the Vagos continental team had difficulty following the Amigas, with Madeirans taking advantage of it with regard to scoring. In fact, it was exactly the acceleration of the game from the CAB that allowed the Friends to make a partial of 10-0, in the second half of the first half, and reach the end of the first ten minutes of play in front of the marker by 20-15. It is worth highlighting, at this early stage of the meeting, the benefits of Sofia Silva (7 points) and Kristen Mann (6 points). These were very well helped by combative Ashley Bruner, who secured five strikes. In the second half, the aggressive defense of the CAB continued to pose many problems to the Vagos attack. In addition, the CAB also benefited from the good entries of Lavinia Silva and Marta Bravo, which contributed points and ball thefts to the collective effort of Madeirans. After the CAB gained a 13-point advantage, Vagos' coach, John January, gambled everything and removed his American athletes from the field. Continental formation lost height, but gained speed and aggressiveness, factors that allowed athletes playing black to approach the marker and reduce the loss to 6 points. The CAB responded with the entry of Carolina Escortius, which, in addition to marking the only triple that the CAB performed in the first part (against 4 noted by Vagos) also brought even more aggressiveness to the defense of the Friends and versatility to their attacks. Joana Lopes was an authentic ‘general’ within the field, and, until the break, she safely commanded the attacks of the CAB and allowed the Friends to continue to approach the game with the serenity required of them. Resisting the advances of Vagos, the CAB again won the second period (although for only 1 point) and reached the interval ahead by 36-29. Sofia Silva (11) was the best CAB annotator, while in Vagos was Canastra (8) the most accurate. In the caveats, the CAB carried superiority (26-18), while in the ball losses it was the Vagos that had made the most mistakes (7-12). On the return of the locker rooms, the CAB entered well, achieving a partial of 7-0 which increased the punctual difference from Vagos to 11 points. Despite the unusual setback I was revealing in the pitches near the basket, the defense of the Friends allowed the CAB to continue to master the meeting. A phase less achieved from the CAB was meritoriously harnessed by Vagos, to reduce the merchant to 52-46 when there were 2:40 to play. However, Carla Freitas decided to ‘open the book’, contained the avalanche of the opponents and restored the advantage of Madeirans in the 14 points. Behind a great performance of the Portuguese international formed in the club of Nazaré, the CAB reached the end of the thirty minutes of play to lead by 60-69, an advantage of 11 points that gave some comfort, but that required the friends the maximum concentration, because Vagos did not give up. In the last period, the CAB went back into the areas near the basket. In that chapter, the Friends were clearly below their ‘normal’ benefits, but the good defense of the Friends allowed them to keep the Vagos to a considerable distance. In this defence chapter, it is imperative to give a great word of recognition to Carolina Escortius, who has managed to do what no one has been able to do so far, namely to stop Joana Canastra, who was being the most restless of continentals and a headache for Madeirans. She and Domingues were ‘arrows’ pointed to the Amiga basket, but with the precious help of Carolina Escortius, the CAB contained the attacks of the opponents. Under the charts, Ashley Bruner was in a very close and aggressive fight with Jessica Lawson. However, the athlete of the CAB knew to take advantage and was decisive, especially in the chapter of the caveats, conquering 13 throughout the game and giving the CAB much security and solidity. When 3:40 left to play, the CAB secured a precious 16-point advantage, the biggest of all. The same was the result of the CAB's speed of play, to which Vagos had difficulty responding. Until the end of the meeting, the continentals gave everything to reduce the difference, but the CAB always kept the pace of the game, winning the fight for the tables (48-35 in the caveats) and forcing 19 losses of ball in the opponents. With merit, the Amigas won the game by 74-61, with Carla Freitas (14), Joana Lopes (13) and Kristen Mann (13) to be the main writers. Ashley Bruner (9 points, 13 points), Lavinia Silva (7), Sofia Silva (11), Marta Bravo (4) and Carolina Escorcio (3) were also key pieces of a deserved victory.