… Ravens edge Bulls in one-point thriller

JUST when it mattered most, Travis ‘The Blur’ Burnett, one of the country’s premier point guards, poured in a tournament-high 41 points against his former club Pacesetters, to lead newcomers Kobras to a 84-64 points win, to keep their ‘final four’ spot alive in this year’s Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) National Club Championships, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Also in the winners’ row were Retrieve Raiders who picked up their first win, 59-52 over the Guardians and eliminated the Plaisance-based team in the process.
Ravens also closed off their group stage round with an important come-from-behind 76-75 win of the Half Mile Bulls – a victory that could determine the once Number One club’s fate.
Meanwhile, playing in the night’s first game, the Kobras, behind Burnett’s sensational night, chalked up their second win in a fashion that sent a statement to the rest of the tournament when he guided his side to hand Pacesetters their first defeat of the tournament.

Burnett is not known as a shooter, but as his coach Jermain Slater stated, the point guard has been working on his shooting and Pacesetters had a first-hand experience and one that they would not forget.
The Kobras point guard scored 24 of his 41 from ‘down town’ while Pacesetters’ Nathan Saul, who had the task of squaring off against his former club mate, was no match in the back court, as Burnett easily manoeuvred his way to the rim.
Mark Richards scored 15 and Slater, the player/coach, had 12 for the Kobras, who will play Retrieve Raiders on Friday. A win will put them on the brink of a final-four berth, depending on the outcome of the Pacesetters versus the undefeated Victory Valley Royals game tomorrow.

Saul finished the night with 11, a team-high, while Stephan Gillis, the team’s usual marksman, and still one the best shooters in the country, was just good enough for eight points on an off-night.
In the second game of the triple-header, Ravens, behind the brilliance of Darcel Harris, played from behind to come up big in the final quarter to win a crucial game against Bulls 76-75.

The Bulls, with Terron Welch as their primary scored, raced to a 22-14 first-quarter lead, but Harris was the Ravens’ distributor and rallied Tyrone Hamid (22) and Sabastian Luke (18) to outscore the Bulls 18-17 but trailed 32-39 at the half-way mark.
The third period saw Ravens score 24 points as compared to the Bulls’ 21 and with Welch ‘hitting’, the Bulls still held on to a four-point lead (60-56) to close the penultimate stanza on the exciting match.

While Harris might not have gotten to the rim as much, his assists were invaluable as he pushed his men to a 20-15 fourth quarter score, making several ‘clutch’ plays to keep his hopes alive.
Vibert Benjamin finished the night with 18 and Michael Turner was clod on the floor but finished with 10.

Meanwhile, the Raiders versus Guardians game was a battle between the winless. However, the Linden side led from ‘jump ball’ to come away with the seven-point margin win (59-52).

Point guard Keon Cameron had his best game of the tournament with a crafty 17 points, while Omally Sampson and Marvin Hartman contributed 12 and 11 points respectively.
For Plaisance Guardians, junior national centre Akeem Crandon had a team-high 14 and Trenton Woolford finished the night with 10.