Royals and Jets open with wins to advance to the next round
THE effects of the year long basketball off season in Linden was evident as organised club basketball returned to the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court with opening wins for Victory Valley Royals and Amelia’s Ward Jets as they disposed of  Retrieve Raiders and Kwakwani, as the third annual Brusche’s Classic knock out basketball championship got underway. Tonight, the action switches to the Burnham Court where Georgetown teams Maccabbees and two time losing finalists Pacesetters clash in one game at 6:00hrs, and the other at 20:00hrs between the City’s top ranked club Ravens and,  the might of  Berbice, Warriors of New Amsterdam.
On the  resurfaced MSC basketball court, the first game of the opening double- header in this ten team knockout championship saw Victory Valley Royals outscoring Retrieve Raiders 54-41, while the other match-up Amelia’s Ward Jets zoomed past Kwakwani 60-48.
Royals were able to settle down early in their transition game to lead after the first quarter 20-5. The Retrieve lads composed themselves somewhat but still trailed 28-16.
Raiders’ by then had one real scorer in Neil Marks through whom they were running their plays, and with a strong third quarter showing they held sway by doubling their scores on a 16-12 run, even though   they were still  adrift by eight points 32-40.
With Royals being able to thwart the entry of the national power forward Neil Marks, and no other scorer stepping up, the effort  by Raiders became inept, as they wasted several chances via the turnover route and Royals back court players Alwyn Rodney and Orlando Glasgow ensured victory for their side by a solid 54-41 margin.
Rodney had 14 points and Glasgow 11 while Anson Durant added six for the winners while the Raiders’ Marks led all scorers with 18 points as Kenneth Charles supported with 14 in a losing cause.
In game two of the evening Region Ten’s ( Upper Demerara /Upper Berbice) side looked as if they were ready to halt the Jets as their game began but the Jets nudged ahead for an 11-7 lead after the first quarter came to an end.
Kwakwani had pinned their chances on the former junior national swingman Dale Sauers while shooting forward Floyd Edmonds was posing some problems for the Ward side.
However, Jets’ national centre Shane Webster was proving his worth stationed in the middle where he was virtually too big to handle, and talented guard Leonard Caleb was providing another scoring option for his side.
Kwakwani was able to take a 14-13 advantage in scoring as the Jets were ahead at half time 24-21 and it was, or so it seemed, anybody’s game.
The third quarter then saw the ball game swing towards the Jets as Caleb netted nine points, Webster dumped in six and the experienced Neil Simon steadied them with four as they propelled their side to a 25-7 third quarter run, to blow open the game 49-28.
With all to play for in the final quarter, Jets coasted home finally and now looks like a contending team, after a 17-14 third quarter advantage, to win comfortably 60-48.
Caleb top scored with 19 points as Webster got 15, while for Kwakwani ,Sauers netted 16 points and Edmonds 11 in a losing cause.
After tonight’s game in the City the action switches back to Linden at the MSC hard court on Wednesday where Kashif and Shanghai Kings oppose Royals in one game, and the other, is between Jets and the defending champions Wismar Piston.