Riot
Mars Basketball Final
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Newly crowned LBF First Division Champions NPA-Pythons Photo
by J. B. Carter
By Julu M. Johnson, Jr.
The grand finale of the 2007 national basketball championship ended
in a very unfriendly fashion at the weekend.
The Oilers of the Liberian Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) and the
Pythons of the National Port Authority (NPA) were the two teams
battling for supremacy at the Sports Commission on Broad Street on
Saturday, May 12, 2007.
During the fourth quarter of the encounter, the match was going the
way of the NPA Pythons through a 76-72 lead before violence erupted
with missiles such as bottles, sticks and rocks thrown on the court,
mainly from outside the match arena.
At least eight police officers were drafted to calm the situation
that seemed to have lasted for 45 minutes.
After the court was cleared, the leaders NPA Pythons appeared on the
court to end the last 30 seconds of play, but the LPRC Oilers, that
was trailing, refused to do likewise. Thus, the referee was left
with no alternative but to rule the result of the match in favor of
the former.
NPA Pyhtons now becomes the new basketball champions of Liberia
following a 3-2 scoreline against the LPRC Oilers after five
matches.
Prior to the final, LPRC Oilers ousted Flames, whereas the NPA
Pythons did the same to Dream Team in the knockout playoff stage.
The five-match final series kicked off with the LPRC Oilers taking
two successive match lead.
In doing so, the LPRC Oilers defeated the NPA Pythons 74-71 on
Saturday, April 28, 2007. The Oilers again won 75-67 over the NPA
Pythons on Sunday, April 29, 2007.
Notwithstanding, as the LPRC Oilers intended to win the third match
to automatically pick up the championship, Mark Smith and his
colleagues turned things around with a convincing 86-68 victory for
the NPA Pythons on Friday, May 4, 2007 before a large crowd that
included LPRC Managing Director, Dr. Harry Greaves.
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LPRC-Oilers Coach McCritty in pre-match lectures
with his boys Photo by J. B. Carter
The match on Saturday, May 5, 2007 saw the NPA Pythons taking a
70-64 lead against LPRC Oilers with 1 minute and 47 seconds
remaining in the final quarter, but a downpour of rain meant the
match had to be cancelled. Similar rain did not permit the
rescheduled fourth encounter from taking place.
The authorities of the Liberia Basketball Federation (LBF) then set
aside Wednesday, May 9, 2007 as the date for game four of the
series. A win for the LPRC Oilers would have automatically brought
the fight to an end, but the NPA Anchors won in extra time 93-89 to
create room for game five. The match stood at 83-83 after four
quarters.
The NPA Pythons are known for losing the last two championships in
the final stages. In 2005, it was the same LPRC Oilers that denied
the NPA Pythons of the title. Later, Invincible Eleven (IE)
shockingly crushed the NPA Pythons in the 2006 final.
Despite the two successive failures of the NPA Pythons, local
basketball connoisseurs have always regarded the Jonathan A. Mason
boys as the best playing side in the country until the latest
triumph occurred on Saturday.
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