Kings, Half Mile Bulls and Amelia’s Ward Jets recorded opening night wins over Bankers Trust Falcons, Victory Valley Royals and Retrieve Raiders respectively when the Linden Amateur basketball Association (LABA) u-23 championship commenced on Sunday.
Hosted at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court in Linden, the final game of the night saw Amelia’s Ward Jets overcoming Retrieve Raiders by a 47-42 margin. Amaniki Archibald led all scorers in the victory with an 18 point effort.
In the opening quarter, Jets took the early lead as they outscored Raiders 13-5. Raiders battled back in the second quarter, outshooting Jets 12-7 to go into the half trailing 20-17.
The lead for Jets’ would remain the same going into the final stanza as both teams scored 10 points with the third quarter ending 30-27. Jets then sealed the win in the final period as they outscored Raiders 17-15.
The opening fixture of the tournament witnessed Kings squeaking past Bankers Trust Falcons by a 44-41 score line. Quincy Easton top scored with 18 points in the win while capable assistance by Akeel Primo with 10 points was provided.
In the opening quarter Kings took the early lead as they outscored Falcons 12-7. They then built on their advantage in the second period, netting 10 points while restricting Falcons to five points to go into the half time interval leading 22-12.
Kings would put further distance between the two sides as the third quarter ended with the score locked at 34-19. With the fixture already decided, Falcons outscored Kings 22-10 in the final period.
In the second matchup, Half Mile Bulls dismissed Victory Valley Royals by a 62-45 score line. Terron Welch top scored with 21 points in the win while Jamal Bethune and Dennis Niles supported with 16 and 10 points respectively.
The tournament is slated to continue today at the same venue with a doubleheader. In the opening fixture at 18:30hrs, Bankers Trust Falcons will oppose Retrieve Raiders while the second fixture at 20:30hrs will pit Block 22 Flames against Victory Valley Royals.
