Victory Valley Royals and Kwakwani advanced to the semifinal round in the Guyana Basketball Federation Elite 16 Championship following contrasting wins on Wednesday evening at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue.
Royals dismantled the University of Guyana (UG) Trojans 91-75. Trailing 26-29 at the end of the first stanza, the Royals secured the lead at 47-45 as they outscored the Trojans 21-16 in the second period.
Royals further extended their advantage in the third quarter, netting 22 points while restricting their opponent to a mere seven to enter the final stanza in control at 69-52. With the contest effectively over, the Royals were marginally outscored in the final period 22-23.
Harold Adams led the way with 29 points, while Yannick Tappin supported with 26 points. Adding nine points apiece were Orlan Glasgow and Daniel Lee, while Kobe Tappin added eight.
On the other side, Kadeem Peterkin top scored with 15 points, while Anton Fileen chipped in with 14 points.
Meanwhile, Kwakwani bested Pacesetters 69-66. The first stanza ended poorly for Kwakwani as they surrendered a 17-24 lead. Kwakwani marginally reduced the deficit in the second period at 31-37 as they out-shot Pacesetters 14-13.
Pacesetters added to their marginal advantage in the third period as they out-hustled Kwakwani 15-12 to enter the final stanza ahead at 52-43. However, a fourth quarter offensive blitz from Kwakwani secured the win, as they scored 26 points while restricting Pacesetters to 14.
Kelon Phillips and Kimol Grimmond led Kwakwani with 23 and 22 points, respectively, while Domair Gladstone supported with 11 points. For Pacesetters, former Kwakwani standout Troy David top scored with 18 points, while Joslyn Crawford, Jaleel Duke, and Tafawa Daly tallied 14, 11, and eight points apiece.
