Trinity Grid Holding (TGH) Pacesetters escaped the proverbial ‘jaws of death’ to defeat Bounty Colts 75-61 in the first division category match up on Saturday night during the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Super League at the Burnham Basketball Court.
Pacesetters began the fourth quarter trailing by eight points but managed to steal the momentum and complete a 22-point turnaround and progress to 3-0 in the first division Super League standings. Colts fed off the hot-handed Shelroy Thomas who drained six three-pointers during his 26-point performance.
Colts had been leading at the beginning at the fourth quarter by eight points when officials intervened and allowed what was possibly the decisive momentum changer. Colts’ players had an incorrect jersey number according to FIBA rules (only number 4-15 allowed). Officials usually check for this at the beginning of games, but failed to do so in this encounter. This was not noticed until the fourth quarter and referees still decided to correct their earlier oversight by issuing two free throws technical foul to Pacesetters at that critical point of the game. The free throws were taken by Stephon Gillis who made both to cut the Colts lead down to six. Pacesetter embarked on a double-digit run, after than and Colts never regained the momentum.
Thomas had connected on three of his six three pointers in the first quarter and two in the second quarter. Colts erased an early Pacesetters 11-point deficit (2-13) to trail by six, 16-22, at the end of that quarter. Colts stole the lead in the second quarter and led at 40-32 by halftime, through superb ball moving and accurate shooting from the field. Dave Causeway, who scored nine points was on target early but was more effective as a facilitator than a scorer.
A three-pointer from Gillis was the first basket of the game for Pacesetters. Even though he had looked cold for the first three quarters after that shot, Gillis caught fire during the Pacesetters fourth quarter run and ended the game with 22 points. Dependable forward Royston Siland came up big with crucial offensive rebounds for the Pacesetters to go along with his much-needed 20 points. Travis Burnett had an off night but still managed to score 13 points, while bench player Keith Tute maximised his playing time and scored 11 points. Tute worked overtime in the second half, scratch-marking Thomas to ensure he did not continue to punish the Pacesetters from beyond the arc.
While the concept of a ‘surprise game winning shot’ sounds illogical, Pepsi Sonics guard Jason Squires, oblivious of the time, drilled a three-point game winner to stun Nets 45-44. The game was dominated by defensive plays and Sonics struggled to find quality shots late in the game.
Nets had better opportunities but failed to convert. Squires had been having a bad game with only six points through the first three quarters. Sonics coach Mark Agard had even bench Squires for the first few minutes of the fourth quarter before giving him the opportunity to redeem himself. Nets’ stifling zone defense even prevented entry passes with their height advantage against the Sonics.
After a few perimeter passes Squires pulled up from the right elbow beyond the three-point line. Two seconds later referee Aubrey Young blew his whistle twice to signal to end of the game. Nets players, who were not conscious of the time as walked off the court bewildered while the surprised Sonics players swarmed Squires (9) and celebrated.
At the Burnham basketball court, instead of game clock being displayed, officials keep the time at the table and coaches and players usually check with the table officials. Trevor Smith finished with 14 points, while Rawle White added nine. Darrion Lewis was effective for the Nets, registering a game high 17 points while Drumson McCaulay added 14 points.
Evans Johnson scored 27 points to lead the Colts third division side to victory against the Plaisance Guardians 67-49. Johnson got assistance on the offensive end from Tion Joaquin who ended with 12 points. The GABA Super League continues this Wednesday night.
