Dynas Ravens and Retrieve Raiders will contest the final of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) Road to Mecca national inter-club championships following semi-final wins on Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue.
Ravens defeated fellow Georgetown side Bounty Colts 71-68 while Amelia Ward Jets went down to Raiders 50-55 in the battle of the Linden sides. The two sides will now meet in the final at same venue on Sunday.
In a high-scoring matchup, Colts took an early two-point lead with the opening quarter finishing 18-16.
Ravens, though, returned in the second period with more enthusiasm to outscore Colts 16-14 as the half ended 32-32. The pivotal third quarter would go in the favor of Colts as they edged Ravens 14-13 to go into the fourth leading 46-45.
However, Ravens would assert themselves in a high scoring final period, netting 26 points to Colts 22 points to book their place in the grand finale.
Akeem Kanhai led the winners with 28 points and 12 rebounds. He was assisted by Ryan Stephney who bagged 13 points, Dominic Vincente 12 points and Jermaine Slater who contributed nine points and 16 boards.
Shelroy Thomas was the principal scorer for Colts as he netted 22 points while Nikkolai Smith and Niko Fraser scored 12 and 10 points respectively.
In the opening semi-final, Raiders would erase an eight point deficit after the third quarter
Staring down the barrel of the eight point deficit going into the final quarter after the third finished at 40-32, Raiders would outscore Jets 15-10 in final period to clinch the low scoring opening semi-final.
Neil Marks led the way for Raiders with 20 points and seven rebounds whilst Louis James contributed a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Registering double-double fixtures of 24 points and 13 rebounds in a losing cause was Shane Webster while sibling Alastair Webster netted 11 points.
The final will be contested from 10pm on Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, while the third and fourth place play off between Bounty Colts and Amelia’s Wards Jets begins at 8pm. There will also be an exhibition game between a team representing the Diplomatic Corp and the Media United team which will commence the night’s activities.
