A fourth quarter blitz from Troy David could not prevent Suriname from clinching the Inter Guiana Games male basketball title as Guyana went down 63-66 to surrender the three match series 2-0 yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall
Trailing 41-55 with less than four minutes remaining in the contest, David came off the bench to ignite the Guyanese offence, nailing three daggers from beyond the arc in a 15-point effort which gave Guyana the lead 60-58 and with 1:20s on the clock.
It was from this point that the Surinamese fought back to steal the win as complacency crept into Guyana’s camp.
The Dutch nation secured the result after initiating an 8-3 run in the remaining seconds.
This was highlighted by free-throw conversions to go ahead at 64-63, two of which came from Emile La Rose in the final 23.9 seconds of the contest. Suriname then scored a quick layup following a defensive rebound to apply the final nail in the coffin.
In terms of the numbers, Guyana let the result slip from their grasp due to their own shortcomings as they conceded 21 turnovers and 19 missed free-throws, five of which came in the last two minutes of the fixture.
Prior to the dramatic conclusion, Guyana took the lead in the first quarter where they outscored Suriname 19-15. The hosts maintained their advantage in a low scoring second period, netting 10 points to their foe’s nine points to head into the halftime break ahead at 29-24.
However, the visitors battled back in the pivotal third stanza, scoring 21 points to Guyana’s 12 points to lead 45-41 heading into the fourth period.
Stanton Rose top scored for Guyana with a game high 21 points while Belgrave and Nathan Saul assisted with 11 and 10 points respectively alongside the effort from David.
For Suriname, Darcell Leter scored 17 points while Jamal Wip, Bioron Ewijk and La Rose chipped in with 13, 10 and 10 points apiece.
