Courts Pacesetters blew out Beepat Scorpions in front of a small gathering of fans at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Open and Third Knockout tournament Friday night.
After holding their own, both defensively and offensively, in the first half that ended 32-31 in favour of Pacesetters, Scorpions only managed 18 points in the second half to succumb to an 82-49 trouncing at the end of regulation time. Save for Scorpion’s Travis ‘Cook-up’ Foster (11 points), who pulled down most of the team’s defensive and offensive boards, the rest of the team looked shabby as the Pacesetters were unsung.
Former junior national point guard Travis Burnett of the Courts Pacesetters was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points. He got support from Aubrey Smith (10) and Hugh Arthur (8). Reigning three-point shooting champion Stephon Gillis had a horrible night from downtown. He scored one three-pointer late in the fourth quarter after several missed attempts and ended with seven points.
Foster’s supporting cast members were Alwyn Bellamy and Kurt Erskine with 11 and eight points respectively. After jump ball, the game was evenly poised with Scorpions having the slight advantage as they scored at a better percentage.
But after some lapses on their part which contributed to some unnecessary turnovers, Pacesetters started to gain some ground and then surged ahead. At this stage, Pacesetters tightened on their defence and forced Scorpions to make some impossible shots in a first half that was marred with poor shooting from both teams.
In the second half Pacesetters stepped up on all facets of their game as the glaring inadequacies of the Scorpions players became evident. Their bench players also failed to rescue the team’s decline. Burnet was constantly fed the ball on the inside and most times he was unstoppable. In the fourth quarter of the game Pacesetters scored 29 points and rarely missed a free throw when they went to the line. In the night’s opening third division match Pepsi Sonics ended Melanie Patriots’ fairy-tale run in the tournament by beating the East Coast Demerara Club 64-55. While this game shifted momentum many times, it was clear that the Sonics was the stronger team. Jermaine Reid of the Georgetown-based team scored a game-high 20 while Bevon Spooner and Rawle Duke scored 12 points apiece. For the Melanie team which is affiliated to GABA, Ashton Adams and Floyd Arthur threw down 15 points each and Maxwell Thomas had 13.
Tonight will be the final of the eight-day championships.
