THE Retrieve Raiders and Wismar Pistons were the first two teams to record  victory when action in the New Era ENT/Cell Smart Super-8 basketball tournament officially bounced off at the Mackenzie Sports Club Hard Court in Linden on Saturday last.

Playing in the opening game, Pistons got the better of Block 22 Flames whom they defeated 61 – 45 while Raiders blew away Half Mile Bulls by 20 points (76 – 56).
Trevor Profit led all scorers with 18 points as he led an offensive onslaught by the Pistons’ back court which also so point guard Nevin Grenville dropping 16 points.
Dwight Cooper who had a solid game on the glass, also did some damage in the front court for the Pistons, going on to score 14 points.
Flames trailed from jump ball even though they hang on behind the Pistons 17-18 at the end of the first quarter and 22 – 29 at the end of the half.
But the steady ball pressure, coupled with a poor shooting performance  saw them only scoring five points to the Pistons’ 17, closing the penultimate period 46-27.
Aubrey Johnson, 17 and Devon Morrison 12, were the only two players from Block 22 Flames to reach double digits.
Meanwhile, in the second game of the night, Retrieve Raiders displayed a complete team performance to convincingly defeat Half Mile Bulls.
With former National Striker Collie ‘Hitman’ Hercules and Sheldron Noel being the main distributors of the ball, Raiders led 14-13 at the end of the first period and 33 – 23 at half time.
Former Junior National forward Geofferey LaRose who netted 18 points was the go-too guy for the Raiders, given the fact that the Bulls’ inside players had no stop for the powerful player.
Despite Keron Cameron (18 points) offensive display, the Bulls just couldn’t match the Raiders on either side of the court.
Hercules, known for his exploits on the football field, only managed two points, but facilitated many with his unselfish style of play, most of which went to National forward Neil Marks (13) and Alexander Rose (10).
After their sides were outscored 24 – 11 in the third quarter Michael Turner and Jamar Bethune who both ended with 12 points, tried their best in the final period, but the Raiders’ defence thwarted their every move.
Meanwhile, at the colourful opening ceremony, Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon who declared the tournament open, charged the players to be discipline and play in accordance to the rules of the sport and tournament since its the only way they could repay the organisers and corporate Guyana for supporting the game of Basketball in the mining community.