It was a night to remember for Colts as they clinched the Open and u-23 titles in the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League Qualifying Knockout Tourney, defeating Ravens and Pacesetters respectively on Sunday.
In front of a small gathering at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Colts defeated Ravens 70-56 to clinch the Open title after earlier crushing Pacesetters 93-56 to walk away with the u-23 accolade.
In the Open finale, Shelroy Thomas led the Colts with 15 points while Dave Causway, Shane Webster and Steve McSween chipped in with 13, 13 and 10 points respectively. Ryan Gullen, Ryan Stephney and Marlon Rodrigues netted 16, 15 and nine points respectively in the loss.
Colts started the brighter of the two sides as they took the opening period by a 17-15 margin. Webster top scored for Colts with six points while Thomas chipped in with five points. For Ravens, Rodrigues scored six points inclusive of a four-point play while Stephney netted four.
The Carmichael and Middle streets unit then built on their first quarter momentum, netting 19 points while holding Ravens to only 12 points in the second period to take a commanding 37-26 lead into the half time break.
Causway led the scoring for Colts with five points while Errol Dryden and Quacey Lindo chipped in with four and three points respectively. On the other side, Gullen and Rodrigues scored four and three points respectively.
Despite trailing by as much as 12 points in the opening minutes of the third stanza, Ravens eventually cut the deficit to six points as they outshot Colts 16-13, leaving the score tentatively poised at 49-43 going into the final stanza.
The duo of Stephney and Gullen were the only scorers for Ravens as they recorded eight points apiece while Rayon Cummings was the top shot in the period for Colts with seven points.
Nevertheless, that would be the closest Ravens would reach to erase the deficit as Colts registered their best offensive showing of the match, netting 21 points to Raven’s 13 to clinch the showdown and title.
Causway, Thomas and Niko Fraser marshalled Colts in the period with seven, six and four points respectively. On the Raven’s side, Dominic Vicente, Jermaine Slater and Stephney netted three points each.
In the u-23 finale, Leonard Primo top scored for the victors with 20 points while the next best scorer with 19 points was Stanton Rose. Chipping in with 17 and 16 points were Jonathan Pooran and Denzel Dey respectively.
On the other side, Jaleel Duke recorded a game high 25 points while Nathan Saul shot his way to 21 points. Following a tied 27-27 at the end of the first period, Colts took control of the fixture, outscoring Pacesetters 22-6 in the second period to go into the half leading 49-33.
They further extended their lead in the third period as they outshot their rival 27-15 to go into the final period considerably ahead at 76-48. Colts then completed the rout in the final period as they once again outhustled Pacesetters 17-8.
