IF ANYONE had told the fans who turned up at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court to witness the action in the second annual Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA)-organised, Trophy Stall-sponsored basketball championships that upsets would have ruled the night, they would not have believed.

The seventh-ranked team Block 22 Flames started the upset train when they stopped the top-ranked Kashif and Shanghai Kings 55-38, followed by Bankers Trust Falcons, who showed they were ready to compete at this level following a 10-year absence, with a 63-55 victory over Amelia’s Ward Jets.
In the final game of the night’s triple-header, Retrieve Raiders came from behind to stop the Half Mile Bulls in a thrilling encounter 65-64, to send home the fans with lots to think about when the tournament continues.
The Kings were given the favourite tag before a ball was bounced in the tournament, taking into consideration their dominance of the sport in the mining town recently and they did not disappoint, dominating from the opening whistle, going on a 10-0 run before the first quarter ended 13-4.
The Flames in the second quarter started to attack the glass and limited the Kings’ second-chance points, bringing the game down to a four-point lead at the end of the first half, the scoreboard reading 25-21 in favour of the Kings.
However, the Flames in the third segment came out playing intense defence and capitalised on their second-chance points to take the lead and later pulled off the win, with Selwyn Noble being their top scorer with 13 points while Kerwin Noble had 11 points, against Orin Rose’s game-high 14 points for the Kings.
After 10 years, the Bankers Trust Falcons returned to basketball in Linden and out-flew Amelia’s Ward Jets 63-55, after romping to a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, which they increased to 24-20, before the Jets stormed back.
They were led by the attacking Shane Webster, who took charge and ensured his team took the halftime break with a 43-41 lead, but the Falcons responded with an 18-9 run in the third quarter, that all but sealed off the upset win for them.
Lawrence ‘Bolo’ Da Costa had a game-high 14 points while Dale Sauers contributed 10 points to the Falcons win, even as Javon Nelson had a team-high 12 points and Webster contributed 10 to the Jets’ loss.
Meanwhile Retrieve Raiders came from behind to top the Half Mile Bulls in a an encounter which saw them trail for three quarters, before they took the lead midway the fourth and held on for the win.
Neil Marks led them with a game-high 21 points while centre Omar Sam had 11, with Michael Turner being the lone player from the Bulls to touch double figures, with his team-high 17 points.