Linden Technical Institute clinched the under-19 championship title of the Youth BasketBall Guyana (YBG) Challenge Series with a riveting 48-44 win in overtime over the University of Guyana on the final day of the Series yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Meanwhile, Cummings Lodge Secondary gained an easy pass to the under-16 title as they were awarded a walkover win against Saints Stanislaus College, who left the venue and were not present for the final.
Prior to the finals in the respective categories, the teams battled relentlessly among themselves in the semi-final round as they vied for a place in the finals of the competition.
Saint Stanislaus College whipped Marian Academy 49-23 in the first of the two under-16 semi finals which was the day’s curtain raiser to set up a under-16 final showdown with Cummings Lodge Secondary.
Saints secured a 15-13 lead at the end of the first half after trailing from jump ball and maintained the lead throughout the game thanks to a 27-6 run in the final five minutes of the second half.
Meanwhile, the other under-16 semi-final, a close encounter between Plaisance and Cummings Lodge Secondary Schools, resulted in Cummings Lodge edging their opponents 30-25. The game entered the final minute with both teams on 25, but last minute resistance on the defensive end by Cummings Lodge pushed them past their opponents for the close win.
Linden Technical Institute (LTI) was the first team to book their spot in the under-19 final after defeating Plaisance 45-42 in the first semi-final while the University of Guyana (UG) captured their spot in the final with an intense 38-29 win in the following game over Marian Academy.
The under-19 final between the two tertiary institutions appeared to be heading down to the wire from the inception as the teams traded baskets in the first half and were both on 19 points at halftime.
However the second half began to tell a different tale when LTI rocketed into the lead with an 11-2 run.
Turnovers came on every posession for UG, while LTI persistently attacked the basket successfully in transition. The fact that they were also being out-rebounded did not play well in UG’s favour and the game seemed to be slowly slipping out of their reach.
However, continous scoring from UG guard Richard Mohandatt brought UG back into the game and pushed the battle into overtime with both teams on 38.
Mohandatt, the tournament’s eventual MVP was again the go to man for UG in overtime and carried the hopes of the UG supporters and the team, but fouls against UG steadily sent LTI to the free throw line, where they buried some critical clutch free throws.
It was not long before LTI garnered a sizable lead in overtime, placing UG in a perilous position where they remained until the final whistle finalised their agonising four point loss.
Mohandatt scored a game-high 29 points for UG, while Marlon Pollydore and Jeffrey Larose netted 17 and 18 points respectively for LTI.
In other related activities held as part of the Challenge Series fans were also entertained by pairs free throw, pairs three-point and Skills competitions.
The duo of Jeffrey Larose and Marlon Pollydore were the winners of the free throw shootout with eight baskets, while Ronald Chang Yuen and Andrew Peroune were a close second with six buckets.
Chang Yuen was on the winning end in the three point shootout when he partnered with Liam Friaites. The pair buried five three pointers in their winning total of 15 points while, tied for second was the pairs Kwesi Sears/Stanley McIntosh and Dominque Noel/Dylon Walker with nine points (3×3) each.
Meanwhile, the Skills challenge saw two of Guyana’s top junior national point guards, Mohandatt and Pollydore, going head to head to determine the winner of that competition.
Mohandatt and Pollydore both completed the initial round in blistering times but were tied for first place as they finished.
However, in the additional championship round to determine the winner Mohandatt clinched the win with a time of 16.26 seconds, while Pollydore clocked 16.56 seconds.
Other prizes went to Darrel Williams, who was adjudged Most Valuable player of the Under-16 category.
