Easily the best and most thrilling game of the tournament thus far, Marian Academy survived a late rally by Nikkoloi Smith and his troops before pulling out the win to keep their undefeated streak in the NSBF alive.
Marian raced out of the blocks in the first quarter as their well orchestrated offensive and defensive sets proved too much for Plaisance Academy to handle.
Dominic Vincente, Marian’s star guard, was influential in the first half leading Marian to a 27-19 points lead due to unselfish play on the offensive end.
Plaisance’s star guard Nikkoloi Smith came alive in the second half with his down the middle drives to the basket which Marian seemed to have trouble defending until he fouled out with over five minutes to play.
After Smith’s exit, it seemed to be an easy path for Marian until Plaisance tied the game 50-50 with just over two minutes left in the game.
With the game tied on 55 and 15 seconds left on the game clock, Ruel Ritch netted two crucial free throws which proved to be the eventual game winners for Marian.
Vincente ended with 17 points in the win but Dale Beresford was outstanding as he held his nerve in hitting two big threes down the stretch to keep Marian ahead.
Despite fouling out with over five minuets left, Smith ended with 19 points and nine rebounds while his teammates Nicholas Cassius and Nduka Horatio had 17 and 16 points respectively.
Defending Champions Kwakwani also held off a late surge by Linden Technical Institute (LTI) to keep alive their chances of defending their titles with a 51-48 over LTI.
At the half it would have seemed to be a blowout in the making with the score on 33-14 in favour of Kwakwani.
Former national junior guard Marlon Pollydore marshalled his LTI troops on a comeback run as Kwakwani started to struggle from the field.
However, Pollydore’s never-say-die effort was only good enough to help LTI with three points before the final buzzer sounded.
Joseph Gilkes and Dominique Douglas had 12 points apiece for Kwakwani in the win while Geoffrey Larose had 18 points and 10 rebounds with Pollydore only able to contribute nine.
In the under-16 category Marian Academy was not as successful as their senior team as they were sent packing by Bishops’ High School in a 31-54 loss.
Bishops’ ran the basketball well which disrupted the defensive set of Marian whose players also struggled from the field.
Marvin Durant continued his rich stretch of points with another game-high performance of 17 points while Daniel Ramlagan had 16 pints. Christopher Joao was Marian’s highest scorer with eight points.
In the second semifinal Kwakwani’s junior team was as successful as their senior team as they routed President College 65-34 to give themselves a chance at defending their junior championship.
Kevin Joseph had a game-high 17 points while his teammates Dellon Wallace and Kerrol Phillips had 13 and 12 points respectively. Shaquille Adonis was PC’s only player in double digits with 13 points.
