A night of good basketball in front of a sparse Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) crowd ended with Ravens toppling number one ranked club Courts Pacesetters in both the first and third division finals of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) knockout championships.
In the feature game of the evening Ravens inflicted a 17-point whipping on Pacesetters as the game ended 88-71 and, in the third division match, the young Ravens ballers pipped Pacesetters 71-69.
Ravens power forward Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts (13) and point guard Rodwell Fortune (13) were the top scorers for the seniors.
They were supported by Ryan Gullen, Marlon Rodrigues and Kevin Lawrence with 10 points each. Stephon Gillis led the scoring unit for Pacesetters with 22 points with Aubrey Smith chipping in with 10 points.
When the senior match started, Ravens looked the more composed unit and it became more evident as the game progressed. But the shooting of both teams left much to be desired in the opening minutes of the first quarter.
Ravens ended the quarter 22-18 after Pacesetters enjoyed a 7-0 surge before the quarter ended.
In the second quarter, however, Ravens’ shooting improved tremendously and so did their defensive detail which forced turnovers from Pacesetters and stymied their shooting significantly.
Pacesetters battled and sank some difficult shots especially when their players drove through the lane and drew the foul.
Some three-point plays were converted at the line by Pacesetters but largely they were under severe pressure from the offense and defense mounted by Ravens. Later in the quarter after Ravens somewhat slackened on the defensive end, Pacesetters threw down some baskets to close the margin as the half ended 42-33 to the advantage of Ravens.
In the third quarter Pacesetters only managed 11 points as compared to Ravens’ 22. This stunned the normally boisterous Pacesetters bench into silence. The bench looked dejected and so did Coach Robert ‘Bobby’ Cadogan as that quarter closed 64-44.
In the last quarter, and perhaps Pacesetters best quarter, they had a better rhythm as snipers Darcel Harris of Ravens and Gillis of Pacesetters traded baskets from beyond the arc, a ploy that Ravens executed perfectly in the first half. Pacesetters employed this tactic and closed the margin but Ravens players especially Roberts were in full control of the game.
Ravens stuck to their plan and executed each phase perfectly to close out the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, in the curtain raiser it was a display of good basketball from the crop of the country’s up and coming players. In that game the momentum constantly shifted but it was the defense of the Ravens young ballers that proved the difference in the end.
Coach Harris of Ravens distributed his players well, something that Cadogan didn’t do until it was too late. Cadogan overused his point guard and playmaker Dellon Daniels who played for the entire first half and most of the third quarter.
Junior national point guard Richard Mohandatt of Pacesetters in many instances was double teamed on the inside until he hit two brilliant jump shots from downtown and one from inside when he went over two players. However, it was Tyrone Hamid and Davidson (14 points) who held up the offensive end for the Ravens.
