By Rawle Toney
After a delay of over two weeks, the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) Elite Summer Fest basketball finals will bounce off tonight at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court between the Wismar Pistons and the Kashif and Shanghai Kings.
The tournament was put on hold after the LABA had some serious problems in securing the prize money for the knockout tournament, in which the championship team will walk away with $80,000, second place $40,000 and third place $20,000.
It will be a night that basketball players and fans in the mining town community would not want to miss, since two of the country’s top basketball clubs are going head to head.
The Wismar Pistons who hold the distinction of being Guyana’s top basketball club after winning the national title last year will face the same team whom they defeated to win the title, and the side coached by Raphael Damon will be looking to continue playing the same type of basketball that took them into the finals.
Led by some outstanding performances from their fantastic three, Quincy Jones, Trevor Profit and Neville Grenville, the Pistons made light work of their opponents with the most competitive game being their semi-final clash against the Victory Valley Royals. If the Pistons are to add another title to their cabinet tonight, their top three players will have to bring their ‘A’ game as defeating the Kings will be no easy task.
Both teams have lost one of their top players this year, with the Kings losing star point guard Steve Neils Jr and the Pistons Nkosi Gurrick, both players migrating to Trinidad and Tobago.
Despite losing one of Guyana’s best players this season, the Kashif and Shanghai Kings is still a very dangerous team in the finals. Marvin Hartman, the Kings marksman from behind the arc will be leading their attack with support coming from center Jason Alonzo and power forward Omolly Sampson.
The Pistons, however, has a deeper bench and that should be one of their advantages tonight. But knowing the Kings, they will do whatever it takes to deny them a next championship.
Meanwhile in the curtain raiser at 19:00 hours, the Amelia’s Ward Jets and the Victory Valley Royals will battle for the third place prize in what is said to be a heated affair.
National junior player Akeem Khani and point guard Neil Simon will lead the Jets against Dwayne “Brown Sugar” Roberts and the Victory Valley Royals line-up.
The Jets have been struggling this season to secure players, most times only having as low as seven players, and they are said to be riding on luck which had ran out against the Kings whom they faced in the semi-finals.
But Khani who has been improving in each game and the ingenious Simon are determined to prove their critics wrong against a Royals line-up that is known for their rough playing style.
Roberts will be aiming to avenge his loss to the Pistons in the semi-finals by leading his team to the third place trophy and the $20,000 prize, thus ensuring they do not leave the tournament empty handed.
