East Coast on the brink of elimination
CENTRAL Mackenzie and Christianburg showed that the Linden teams mean business while East Coast sank to their second consecutive loss as the ten-team Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA), Mackeson National Super Ward Basketball Championships continued on Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Three matches were played with the first game seeing Kitty/Campbellville chalk up their first win of the tournament over East Coast of Demerara 71-62.
Christianburg inflicted a 20-point (63-43) drubbing over New Amsterdam and Central Mackenzie out-shone Georgetown Inter-Ward runners-up Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust 51-47.
Linden, over the years, have been known for their keen competitiveness in sports, especially in basketball and on Sunday evening, Werk-En-Rust tasted first hand the Bauxite Bombers’ hunger for victory.
Central Mackenzie, having two of Guyana’s leading guards, Steve Neils Jr and Marvin Hartman in the line-up, easily won the jump-ball thanks to the lanky Jason Alonzo and it was fire from then.
Their element of surprise, however, was overseas-based forward Odley Allen who notched a crucial double-double scoring 18 points and grabbing 19 rebounds and four steals. When combined with Neils’ game-high 20 points and Hartman’s 10 points, the arsenal formed was too much for Naylon Loncke and his boys to handle.
Central led the first quarter 17-11 and closed the first half 32-26 after the two sides exchanged the leads in the game at regular intervals.
The Lindeners played with the “Live by the guns, die by the guns” theory as Neils, Hartman and Allen who scored 48 points of their team’s total were not afraid to let the bombs fly.
Loncke played like a true captain and a one-man army, scoring a game-high 28 points with several daggers from down town but his team faded under the lights and not even his so-called dependable centre Royston Siland could have dealt with the presence of Jason Alonzo in the paint.
Central Mackenzie made sure they led at the end of every quarter even though their number on the bench was limited.
Meanwhile, Nkossi Gurrick put on a show when he wowed the crowd with some magnificent moves in the paint as the centre led Christianburg past New Amsterdam.
Gurrick scored 12 points, decorated with a spin move and a hard two-handed dunk in traffic and grabbed 17 rebounds, one blocked shot and dished out three assists. Trevor Profit netted a game-high 28 points while Quincy ‘Prog-z’ Jones had 18 points and 10 rebounds.
For the Berbicians, Randy Caesar top-scored with 24 points, 12 rebounds and six steals while Carlos Crandon had 16 points.
In the opening game, East Coast were fighting for survival knowing that they had to win after losing on the opening night. Once again Stephon Gillis and Quacy Newton were their chief contributors but basketball is a TEAM sport and the support of the other players was lacking.
Apart from leading 11-11, Kitty didn’t win another quarter since the two sides were deadlocked on 26 at the close of the first half. East Coast led 47-37 at the end of the third quarter but fizzled out after Hodyah Stewart (27 points) opened up with baskets and Darren Thomas (13 points, 14 rebounds) and acquired centre from Linden, Shane Webster, handled the boards.
Webster produced the game’s highlight when he stuffed a right-hand dunk hard in the face of East Coast centre Jermaine Hamilton.
Gillis netted 24 points, 11 rebounds and three steals while Newton shot 20 points for East Coast, who now must win their two remaining matches in their group which will be against New Amsterdam and Christianburg.
The tournament will continue this evening with a double-header from 19:00 h when East Bank play South Ruimveldt in game one and North Ruimveldt oppose Kitty/Campbellville in the other.