GABA/Mackeson Super Ward tourney …
IT’S a clash that many basketball fanatics have been craving to see for a very long time and thanks to the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Mackeson National Super Ward Championships, it will happen. Charlestown/Albouystown and Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust will meet tonight in the second game of the double-header with the opening game pitting New Amsterdam against East Coast.
At present, the star-studded Charlestown team are highly favoured to win the $500 000 first prize and are a game up in that quest while Werk-en-Rust fell hard to Central Mackenzie in their first game of the tournament last Sunday.
Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen was quoted during an interview as saying “Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.”
Maybe the Werk-en-Rust players should listen to Pippen who won six NBA Championship rings with the Bulls during Michael Jordan’s era since in their last game, everyone wanted to be the star and the go-to-guy and evidently it cost them the game.
It’s a mistake that can’t be made in tonight’s game given the make-up of the Charlestown side; Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts, Akeem ‘The Dream’ Kanhai and Kevin ‘Two Feet’ Joseph – three players who were instrumental in the victory in their opening game.
Anyone looking at the two teams on paper would give it to Charlestown but over the years Werk-en-Rust has always been in the money and that should be taken into consideration.
Team captain Naylon Loncke is known as a fighter but will need the help of his mainstream players like national centre Royston Siland and Clement Brusch and the fighting support of his bench.
Charlestown, however, have more artillery with Alwin Bellamy, who was absent from the roster for the last game, still to come and each player on their bench is capable of putting up big numbers.
In the meantime, New Amsterdam and East Coast will both want to win this game but unfortunately, it can’t happen.
East Coast lost their first two matches while Christianburg made a statement with their trouncing of New Amsterdam, who initially said they were coming in the tournament to make a statement and demand respect.
Stephon Gillis and Quacy Newtown were the danger men for East Coast in their two matches so far but if they could get some help from the other players on the team tonight, Berbice could be in some trouble.
The Berbicians will rely heavily on the expertise of the once dominant point guard Carlos Crandon and their usual collective team effort to push them over the East Coast men.
Jump ball time is 19:00 h.