Eagles and Ravens will collide in the inaugural final of the ‘One Guyana’ Basketball League on Saturday, March 9th, following hard-fought victories over the Colts and Kwakwani, respectively, in their corresponding conference finals on Saturday evening.
Staged at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, the Eagles, who were leading 1-0 in their best of three series in the Harpy Eagles conference against the Colts, prevailed in game two by a 74-71 score to complete the sweep.
Travis Belgrave recorded a game-high 25 points. He was supported by Sherland Gillis, who contributed 20 points, while Daniel Ross added an invaluable 12 points. On the other side, U. Yisrael and Shelroy Thomas netted 15 and 14 points, respectively, while Shane Webster and Carmelo Mon-Son-Hing added 11 and 10 points apiece.
The contest started brightly for the Eagles, who soared to an initial 21-14 lead at the end of the first stanza. However, the Colts responded in the second period to seize control, outscoring their opponent 24-11 to enter the half-interval ahead at 38-32.
The Eagles provided the perfect retort in the pivotal third quarter, scoring 21 points while restricting their adversary to 14 points to reclaim the lead at 53-52. The Eagles unit then secured the result, as they out-shot the Colts 21-19 in the final stanza.
Meanwhile, the Ravens edged Kwakwani 74-69 in game three of their best-of-three series in the Jaguars conference final. Experienced guard Ryan Stephney led the way for the victory with 27 points, while Shamar Huntley was the next best scorer with 17 points. Adding 10 points was Darcel Harris.
For the loser, Stanton Rose was the primary threat with 27 points, while Domair Gladstone assisted with 14 points. Chipping in at six points each were Jamal Gilkes and Royan Short.
Kwakwani secured the initial advantage, as the first period ended 25–21. However, Ravens levelled proceedings heading into the halftime intermission at 42-42, as they outscored Kwakwani 21-17.
Upon the resumption, Kwakwani seized a marginal lead heading into the third stanza, scoring 15 points while restricting the Ravens attack to 13 points to enter the final quarter at 57-55. Nevertheless, the Ravens secured a come-from-behind victory as they out-shot Kwakwani 19-12.
Meanwhile, tournament coordinator and Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association chief Jermaine Slater said, “Based on the teams that reached the final, it’s going to be a grudge match. These are two teams that know each other well and normally play against each other. The Ravens have veteran guard Ryan Stephney and national guard Dominic Vicente, and the Eagles have experienced guard Michael Richards and national guard Travis Belgrave, so we are going to see who the better two are. Eagles have hardly beaten Ravens in major tournaments; it’s a testing time for them as they are the only unbeaten team in the tournament.”
The winner of the tournament, which will be played every Saturday at the National Gymnasium, will pocket $1,000,000, while the loser will receive $500,000.
