Plaisance Guardians secured the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association’s (GABA) 2nd Division League Championship, edging Pacesetters 67-65 on Wednesday at the Burnham Court, Middle and Carmichael Streets.
A fourth quarter assault from the East Coast Demerara side sealed the victory. Trailing 47-39 at the end of the third period, Guardians romped to the title in front of a small crowd, outscoring the home side by a 28-18 margin.
Prior to the dramatic conclusion, the contest started in a cagey manner as both teams struggled to find attacking fluency, with the first period ending 8-6 in favour of Guardians.
The second period proved to be better for both teams in the scoring department. Guardians took control of the contest as they outscored Pacesetters 21-18 to end the halftime break ahead at 29-24.
However, Pacesetters responded in the pivotal third stanza, netting an impressive 23 points while restricting Guardians to 10 points to head into the final period in a dominant position.
Terrence Daniels led the East Coast Demerara unit with 24 points. He was supported by an 18-point effort from Jared Sears. Chipping in with six points was Israel Yaw.
On the other side, Zion Gray battled to 21 points, with 14 points the next best score in the form of Quincy Dos Santos. Chipping in with eight points was Mark Rose.
In the third place playoff, Eagles defeated Sonics 56-54. Sherland Gillis led the victor with 19 points, with Shamar Huntley the next best scorer with 13 points.
Adding seven points was Somesh Dhanram. For the loser, Terrence Audain top scored with 16 points, while Troy Glasgow and Denzil Logan added 12 and seven points respectively.
Trailing 12-7 at the conclusion of the first period, Eagles sailed into the lead at the end of the second quarter, out-hustling the struggling Sonics 12-3 to enter the halftime interval at 19-15.
Eagles maintained their advantage in the third stanza, netting 13 points while holding Sonics to 12 points to lead 32-27.
Eagles then survived a comeback attempt from Sonics to capture the win, as they were outscored 27-24.
