A new champion will be crowned in the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation Road to Mecca National Club Championship as Retrieve Raiders downed holders Pacesetters 65-56 in Sunday’s semi-final.
A fourth quarter interior assault led the Linden unit to victory in the match played at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
So close was the match that Retrieve Raiders led by a mere point, (44-43) at the end of the third quarter.
The opening five minutes of the fourth quarter saw Raiders battling to maintain the lead as the teams traded baskets.
However, the Lindeners initiated an 8-2 run by constantly attacking the rim and the subsequent fouling out of Travis Burnett with 1:24s left on the clock hastened the defeat for the Georgetown unit.
Raiders eventually sealed the matchup compliments of a 5-4 run to setup a date with Colts in the grand finale following the latter’s win over Ravens in the earlier semi-final. It will be the second appearance for the Linden unit in the final after losing the inaugural title match to Ravens. Dwayne Roberts was the primary threat for the Raiders as he recorded a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds while Keon Cameron contributed 11 points, eight steals and three assists and Jason Alonzo claimed 10 points and 15 rebounds.
For Pacesetters, Sherlon Legal registered 15 points, 10 rebounds and seven rebounds whilst Stephon Gillis, Royston Siland and Travis Burnett scored nine, six and six points respectively.
Before the cagey ending, Raiders grabbed the initiative as they outscored Pacesetters 16-11. The Georgetown unit battled back in the initial exchanges of the second period, levelling the score at 25-25 through a 14-9 run with less than two minutes left in the period.
Nonetheless, Raiders entered the half time interval the happier of the sides as they outshot Pacesetters 7-3 in the final moments to lead 32-28.
The sea-saw nature of the encounter continued in the third period, with Pacesetters outscoring Raiders 15-12 to pull within one at 44-43, in the process setting up the fixture’s eventual conclusion.
Meanwhile Colts secured their consecutive berth to the final, dismantling fierce Ravens 81-59. It was dominant display from Colts as they never trailed in the contest, with rising star Stanton Rose leading the way with an impressive double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds.
He was supported by Shelroy Thomas who recorded 17 points, four rebounds and three steals, Dave Causway, who registered 11 points, five rebounds and six assists, Kurt English who netted 10 points and a nine point effort from Kurt Elias.
For the losing team, Ryan Stephney scored 21 points, four rebounds and as many assists while Dominic Vicente and Tyrone Hamid chipped in with 15 and seven points respectively.
Although the contest started positively for Colts following a 17-11 lead at end of the first quarter, the Carmichael Street unit commissioned the rout in the second stanza, outscoring Ravens 22-15 to extend their advantage entering the half at 39-26.
While Ravens were able to cut the deficit in the third stanza, it was not a significant reduction as they only outshot their foes 20-16 to enter the final period trailing 46-55.
Terron Welch of Half Mile Bulls won the three point shooting contest featuring several participants, defeating main challenger Dominic Vicente 19-18. For his efforts, Welch walked away with $20,000.
