Inaugural Phillip George Legacy Basketball Tournament…
Georgetown’s two top teams Ravens and Courts Pacesetters held their seeds and secured wins on opening night of the Phillip George Legacy Basketball Tournament Friday night at the Burnham outdoor basketball court.
In the division one category, Pacesetters rode the home court advantage all the way to a comfortable 76-60 win against the Plaisance Guardians while Ravens withstood the come-from-behind efforts of Pepsi Sonics to win 56-51.
On their return to the Pacesetter line-up guard Hugh Arthur and Travis Burnett propelled Pacesetters on the offensive end, combining for more than half (42) of the team’s points. Burnett, who had been injured a few weeks ago, returned with an emphatic scoring performance of 27 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Arthur, on the other hand, returned to his team after spending a few months with Nirva Knights, who are not in competition for this tournament. Arthur scored 17 points, while his fellow Berbician teammate, national forward Randy Richardson, added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Former junior national guard Enoch Matthews led the way for the Guardians with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Nicholas Cassius, who played on last year’s junior national side added ten points and grabbed eight boards (rebounds).
National shooting guard Ryan Stephney played more a facilitative role in Ravens win against Pepsi Sonics and managed to dish six assists to accompany his 14 points. Stephney, who is more a scorer, got players involved and Ravens progressed to a massive 28-10 lead at halftime.
Seriah Clarke, who had taken up the role of team coach for the Raven, also returned to the Ravens line up and contributed 13 points and eight rebounds. Former Dunk Out champion Tyrone Hamid also chipped in with 12 points for the Orangemen on opening night.
Jason Squires scored 11 points for Pepsi Sonics while Hollingsworth Casey added 10 points and seven rebounds. Trevor Smith also gave solid performance for the Pepsi Sonice with nine points, four rebounds and four steals.
Ravens and Pacesetters are the first two teams to claim victories in their respective groups in the round robin format of the tournament. Ravens are listed in Group A along with Colts Eagles and Sonics, while Pacesetters, Republic Bank Nets, Colours Panthers and Guardians are in Group B.Ravens will play their next match tonight against the Eagles while Guardians will take on Republic Bank Nets. Tip-off is scheduled for 1830hrs.
After all teams would have played each other in the group format, the top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-final round of the tournament early next month. The tournament was organised by the Colts basketball court in remembrance of their late coach Phillip George, who departed close to a year ago. The tournament was sponsored by Giftland OfficeMax, Paladin Defence Security Company, the Original Palm Court and Nigel Hinds and Associates.
