——coaches ordered to substitute both teams; bench players complete game
Beepat Scorpions defeated Pacesetters 68-58 Saturday evening at the Burnham basketball court as the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Pepsi Street Playoff Series got underway.
The victory in the best of three series, dispelled all doubts that the Scorpions’ win when the two division three teams met in a GABA league earlier this year was no fluke.
After some amount hype and a brief delay the game commenced and Scorpions began their mission of handing Courts Pacesetters another defeat even as the latter team strove to redeem itself. But as the first half progressed Pacesetters were proving to be light work for the Scorpions line-up led by leading scorer and point-guard Shelroy Thomas.
He ended with the game-high 21 points.
The Scorpions opted to penetrate the lane in the opening quarter and benefitted from this approach as they captured an early lead while Pacesetters resorted to taking outside shots but succeeded only in throwing up a number of air-balls with their off-target floaters.
After an apparent change in the game plan, the Pacesetters began feeding Tariq Cave on the inside who was constantly fouled which put the Scorpions in early foul trouble.
Defensively, Pacesetters forced a number of turnovers which allowed them to haul themselves back into the game.
But poor free throw shooting Cave prevented the team from taking the lead and the first quarter ended with them trailing Beepat Scorpions 12-14.
The second quarter was highlighted by more sombre shooting from Pacesetters, which, backed by some comical passing, led to a barrage of turnovers and a blowout at the hands of the Scorpions seemed the likely outcome.
The Scorpions raced ahead and when Thomas wasn’t finishing the steals himself, his passes were on point finding teammates like Sheldon Frank, cutting to the basket and swiftly finishing the fast breaks on many occasions.
By the start of the third quarter, the Scorpions were cruising with a 39-24 lead which they extended to as much as 20 points before the end of the quarter. The game was on in the final period as the Pacesetters were not going out without a fight.
Their coach, Bobby Cadogan switched defensive strategies and shouted to his team to play man-to-man defence and apply full court pressure. Pacesetters’ began chipping away at the 18-point lead (59-41) at the beginning of the final period with an offensive run late in the fourth quarter.
Aided by Elton Jefford, who came into the game and made some key stops for the Pacesetters, who came within seven points of the Scorpions.
But it was too little too late as Thomas found the net from outside the arc to push the lead back to double figures as the clock expired.
Sherman Oxford, who contributed to the Scorpions total with some much needed jumpers, was the other leading scorer for his team with 14 points, while Cave and Jefford highlighted the Pacesetters scoring with 14 and seven points respectively. In the other game played Saturday evening, tempers flared between the Ravens and Melanie Patriots when they met in the final game of the night. The two Division Three teams were also contesting their game one of the series.
Ravens literally fought their way to a 54-45 point’s victory, which was marred by altercations between players from opposing sides.
These altercations forced the game to a halt twice in the third quarter. On the first occasion a Melanie Patriots’ player was shoved by one of the opposing players. He immediately retaliated by throwing a right hand to the jaw of the Ravens player. This spurred players from both teams into a heated confrontation on centre court as referees, coaches and players from the bench tried to quell the brawl.
It took approximately 10-15 minutes for the officials to get the situation under control and the game restarted.
But this was not the end of it as the players went at it again after a Ravens player was knocked to the ground later in the third quarter.
This time the altercation was more verbal than physical but it prompted officials to order the coaches to substitute both teams and the game was concluded by players from the bench.
