A second half assault piloted Pacesetters to a 66-63 win over Colts in their u23 fixture when the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) sanctioned Turbo King of the Ring Open Championship continued on Saturday. Staged at the Burnham Court, Pacesetters overcame a first half deficit of 12 points at 36-24 to claim the hard-fought contest after outscoring their foe 42-27.
It all started in the third period as Pacesetters reduced the lead of their challenger to a mere four points, scoring 21 to Colts’ 13 points to enter the final period at 49-45.
The come-from-behind result was completed in the fourth stanza as Pacesetters recorded another 21 points while restricting Colts to 14 points.
Jaleel Duke led the winner with 25 points while Nathan Saul chipped in with 13 points. On the other side, Stanton Rose scored 20 points while Jonathan Mangra contributed 11 points.
On the other hand, Plaisance Guardians defeated Ravens by a 63-60 scoreline in the second match of the section. Nigel Bowen recorded a game high 23 points and seven rebounds while Andrew Johnson and Terrence Daniels assisted with 12 and 11 points each. For the losing Georgetown-based unit, Sebastian Luke scored 22 points while Shamar Huntley chipped in with 11 points. Meanwhile, on Friday at the same venue, Ravens crushed Plaisance Guardians by an 81-64 score line in an Open Divisional matchup.
Dominic Vincente top scored with 21 points while Jermaine Slater assisted with 18 points and seven rebounds and Ryan Stephney contributed 17 points and five rebounds.
For the loser, Ron Campbell led the way with 21 points and eight rebounds while sharpshooter Nikoloi Smith chipped in with 20 points and six rebounds. Although the contest promised to be highly competitive, in reality Guardians hardly threatened as Ravens raced off to a 27-12 lead at the end of the first period.
The Georgetown side maintained their sizeable lead heading into the half time interval at 40-27 as they netted 13 points to their opponent’s 14 points in a low scoring second quarter.
Their advantage was marginally increased following the resumption as they outshot the East Coast of Demerara unit 24-19 in the third stanza to lead 64-46 going into the fourth period.
Ravens saw out the contest in the remaining minutes as the final period ended 18-17 in favour of Guardians. The event will continue today at the same venue with another doubleheader.
