Defending champions Pitbulls began their title defence in the best possible manner, recording a perfect 4-0 record when the Mackeson King of the Rim 3×3 Basketball Challenge Georgetown group-A section, continued on Thursday.
Hosted at the California Square Basketball court, national player Ryan Gullen stole the show in the final matchup of the evening with eight points as the current title holders humbled Pacesetters-C by a 12-5 margin.
Gullen kick-started the stuttering offence with a left-sided two-point dagger from beyond the arc to push his team ahead 4-2 in the first two minutes of the 10 minute engagement.
He would then make his presence felt once more as he nailed back-to-back two-point missiles from the exact spot with 2:50 and 2:36 left on the clock, pushing his side into what would prove to be an unassailable lead with the score locked at 10-3.
In their third fixture, Pitbulls defeated Above the Rim by a 9-4 margin. Gullen was the main scorer once more as he netted five points inclusive of a two-pointer from his favoured left side of the court, a layup down the centre and a free throw attempt.
In their two earlier matchups, the defending champ defeated home side Texas by a 7-2 margin and Rim Kings by a 13-5 score line. Due to their unbeaten record, the defending champions qualified for the grand finale of the tournament on December 19th.
Meanwhile, also impressing on the night was Future Setters who walked away with a record of three wins and one loss in four games. Wins registered on the night for the youthful Future Setters include a 10-7 defeat of Colts-A, a 12-7 downing of Rim Kings and a 10-4 humbling of Texas.
Their only loss suffered on the evening was a 6-3 defeat to National All-Stars. Similarly recording three victories albeit in five matches on the night was Colts-A. The experienced outfit defeated the National All-Stars 14-12, Above the Rim 7-3 and Texas.
In other results, Rim Kings defeated Texas 10-4 in the second matchup of the night while Above the Rim squeaked past Pacesetters-C 11-9 in the eighth matchup of the evening.
Pacesetters-C would then squeak past Colts-A 12-10 in overtime in the thirteenth match after regulation time ended with the scores on 10-10.
In the twelfth fixture of the night, National All-Stars edged Above the Rim 9-8 in overtime following a 7-7 score at the end of normal time while Rim Kings upset National All-Stars 6-4 in the fifteenth programmed affair.
Due to their similar win records, Future Setters, Colts-A, National All-Stars and Rim Kings will feature in a knockout tourney to decide the other team that advances from the section.
Meanwhile, the Georgetown group-B fixtures will be contested today at the Alberttown basketball court where 10 teams will vie for another two spots in the finale.
Four teams will be drawn from the Georgetown leg while TRS Raptors will represent the hope of the East Coast of Demerara after winning that section. The Linden and West Demerara divisions will be represented by two and one teams respectively in the finale.
