A Floyd Arthur two-point dagger in the dying seconds sealed Raptors’ perfect record of four wins in as many matches by defeating Team Venom 11-8 when the Mackeson King of the Rim 3×3 Basketball Challenge continued on Tuesday.
With 14 seconds left in the game and the scores locked at 9-8 in their favour at the Plaisance Basketball Court, Arthur unleashed a two-point missile from beyond the arc on the right side of the court, effectively putting the game beyond reach.
Arthur for his efforts, finished the match-up with six points while Sherlon Legall contributed four points. Kevin Dey and Ewart Smith were the main scorers for the losers with four and three points respectively. Due to their perfect record, Raptors will advance to the next round of the tourney.
In their second win of the match day, Raptors overcame home side Plaisance Guardians by a 9-8 margin in a bruising affair. Ashton Adams was the top scorer for the winners with five points inclusive of a pivotal two-point play in the final 40 seconds of the fixture that changed the outcome of the match.
Attacking the rim down the centre of the court with his side trailing 7-6 on the scoreboard Adams, upon laying up his effort, would be fouled by the challenging defender and sent to the line. He then calmly netted his free throw attempt to push his side into the lead at 8-7, an advantage they would maintain in the dying seconds to clinch the win.
In their two earlier fixtures, Raptors downed Belladrum Lions by a 14-9 score line and overcame Extreme Underdogs by a 13-8 margin. Arthur netted six points in the win against Belladrum Lions while Legall registered a team high seven points against Extreme Underdogs.
In other results, Team Venom defeated Extreme Underdogs 14-7 in the first fixture of the night while in the second engagement, Plaisance Guardians edged Extreme Underdogs by a 9-7 score line. The third match-up of the night saw Belladrum Lions coming from behind to edge Plaisance Guardians 10-8. Darren Vanderstoop led the scoring for the winners with six points including two consecutive two point missiles in the final minute to seal the win.
In the fifth engagement, Plaisance Guardians edged Team Venom 9-8 in overtime by becoming the first team to score the mandatory two points after normal time finished 7-7.
Belladrum Lions then registered their second win of the event, defeating Extreme Underdogs 10-8 in the sixth match-up whilst Team Venom grabbed their second victory in the eighth fixture, squeaking past Belladrum Lions 12-10. The action is slated to continue today at the California Square court in East Ruimveldt.
