Ravens and Colts will compete in the Open Divisional finale of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League Qualifying Knockout Tournament, defeating Plaisance Guardians and Trinity Grid Holdings (TGH) Pacesetters respectively in their semi-final matchups on Saturday.
Staged at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Ravens defeated the East Coast of Demerara unit by a 71-61 score line. Jermaine Slater was the top shot for the victor with 19 points while the next best scorer with 16 points was Ryan Gullen.
Assisting in the win with 12 points each were Marlon Rodrigues and Dominic Vicente. On the other side, sharp-shooter Nikkoloi Smith was the main threat with 26 points while Trenton Woolford and Nicholas Cassius chipped in with 12 and 11 points respectively.
With the score locked at 35-35 at the end of the first half, Ravens pulled away in the third stanza as they netted a mammoth 26 points while restricting Guardians to 14 points to go into the final period ahead 61-49.
With a sizeable lead at their disposal following their third quarter showing, Ravens clinched their berth in the finale despite being outscored by Guardians 12-10. In the other matchup, Colts dismantled fierce rivals TGH Pacesetters by a 69-50 margin.
Shelroy Thomas top scored in the rout with 20 points while capable assistance was provided by the duo of Steve McSween and Shane Webster who netted 13 and 11 points respectively. For Pacesetters, Travis Burnette led the offensive showing with 15 points.
Supporting was the duo of Royston Siland and Joslyn Crawford who netted eighth and seven points correspondingly. Securing a 19-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, Colts started the rout in the second stanza as they outhustled the challengers 18-8 to take a 37-23 lead into the half time interval.
Their lead continued to be increased in the third quarter, netting 17 points while reducing Pacesetters to 12 points go into the fourth period ahead by a 54-35 score. Colts then saw out the fixture in the final period as both teams recorded 15 points.
In the u-23 section of the tourney, Colts will oppose TGH Pacesetters in the finale after squeaking past Ravens by a 51-46 score line in their semi-final affair. With Pacesetters already securing their place in the finale earlier, Jonathan Mangra was the top scorer for the winner with a joint game high 15 points.
He was assisted by Kevin Dey and Amoniki John who scored 12 and nine points correspondingly. For the loser, Carlos Matthews led the way with 15 points while Shamar Huntley was the next best scorer with seven points.
The opening period witnessed Colts seizing the early advantage as they raced off to a 19-10 lead. Ravens then battled back in the second stanza, outscoring Colts 12-6 to pull within three points as they went into the half time interval at 25-22.
The pivotal third period saw Colts marginally extending their lead as they outscored Ravens 14-12 to setup the tense finish. Colts eventually held on to their lead in the final period as both teams scored only 12 points. Up to press time, the two divisional finales were in progress at the same venue.
