Victory Valley Royals secured their semi-final berth in the 3rd Rock Entertainment King of the Ring Basketball Championship, downing Half Mile Bulls 69-53 on Saturday at the Mackenzie Hardcourt in Linden.
Trevor Profitt and Alwyn Rodney top scored in the win with 12 points each. They were assisted by Orlando Glasgow and Chris Williams who scored nine and eight points respectively.
For the loser, Dennis Niles top scored with a game high 23 points while Jason Blair, Keifer Tappin and Terron Welch scored nine, eight and four points apiece. From the opening whistle Royals seized the advantage as they outscored Bulls 22-7 in the first period.
Royals maintained their lead heading into the half time at the 38-22 break as they outshot their foe 16-15. The trend of the matchup continued in the third stanza as Royals outhustled Bulls 20-11 to enter the final period ahead at 58-33.
With a sizeable lead at their disposal, Royals completed the result despite being outscored 20-11. In the earlier fixture, Amelia’s Ward Jets defeated Falcons 71-57. Orin Rose top scored with 16 points.
Contributing was the trio of Akini Wilson, Adrian Webster and Neil Simon who scored nine points each. On the other hand, Thorington Wilson, Akeel Primo and Devon Thompson scored 11, 10 and nine points each.
Meanwhile on Friday at the same venue, Royals defeated Block 22 Flames by a 57-30 score line. Glasgow led the way with 16 points while Williams and Harold Adams scored 14 and 10 points correspondingly. For the loser, Selwyn Henry scored eight points.
The other matchup on the night witnessed newcomer Kwakwani dismissing Amelia’s Ward Jets 88-65. Dominique Douglas recorded a game high 21 points for the winner whilst Lenardo Primo and Evans Johnson scored 17 and 16 points each.
Orin Rose led the loser with 19 points while Akini Wilson supported with nine points. The event will resume on August 13th at the same venue with another doubleheader.
In the opening fixture at 19:00hrs, Kwakwani will oppose Falcons while Bulls will oppose Block 22 Flames in the feature affair at 21:00hrs.
Winner of the event will pocket $100,000, medals and the championship trophy while the losing finalist will receive $75,000, medals and the respective accolade. The third-placed unit will collect $25,000 and a trophy.
Meanwhile, there will also be an award for the Most Disciplined Team whilst on the individual side, a trophy will be up for grabs for the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
