The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

JARAUN Burrows and FOS-Provence Basket are one step closer to a championship title and league promotion after a game one win in the LNB French Pro B Division Finals.

Burrows was limited to just 17 foul-plagued minutes and scored six points in Fos-Sur-Mer Provence Basket's 72-68 win over Rouen as the series got underway yesterday.

Game two is set for Thursday, June 14.

Roanne won both previous matchups between the teams during the regular season. On December 8, they won 76-71 and on March 20, they scored a decisive 99-64 blowout win.

The B-Division is the second-tier level league in the country and the champions are promoted to the A-Division at the end of each season.

Following a late season stint and playoff run with FOS Provence Basket last season, Burrows agreed to a contract extension to return to the club this year. He helped the club to the league's semi-finals and in 12 games last season, he averaged 10.7 points, four rebounds and three assists in just over 25 minutes per game.

This season, he posted averages of 13.9 points, 5.1 rebounds per game on 62 per cent shooting from the field. "We're now into the final, so anything is possible," Burrows told the Tribune last week. "This pro B France is no pushover. It's tough. Night in and night out, one team could lose to the 17th ranked team. It's that kind of fight."

FOS-Provence ended the season with six consecutive wins and headed into the playoffs as one of the league's hottest teams. They finished the season ranked No.4 with a 24-10 record.

They continued that momentum in the playoffs, undefeated after five games thus far. In the quarter-finals they completed a two-game sweep over Nancy and in the semi-finals, it was another two-game sweep over Rouen.

"It was a long season, but a good season," Burrows said, We finished as the No.3, ending the regular season on 4-5 game winning streak coming into the playoffs. We were rolling in the playoffs where we had all best-of-three series.The quarter-final was a 2-0 sweep and the semi-final was a sweep as well so we are just hoping that streak can continue."