THE SUDDEN withdrawal of the Victory Valley Royals in this year’s Trophy Stall Open Basketball championship, organised by the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA), paves the way for either Retrieve Raiders or Half Mile Bulls to take over as the third-ranked club.

Meanwhile, the battle at the top between the current number one and defending champions of this tournament, the Kashif and Shanghai Kings, and second-rated Amelia’s Ward Jets continues to be of keen interest.
With the Brusche’s Classic, which features the top clubs from around the country, set to take off next month, the Royals may find themselves hard-pressed to be among the chosen few should the keen rivalry among the Linden clubs continue as they are.
The Kings, however, suffered an opening shock loss to minnows Block 22 Flames who are ranked seventh and have secured two wins so far as against one loss.
The second-ranked Amelia’s Ward Jets also suffered a huge loss to the returning Bankers Trust Falcons in their opening encounter and this makes the battle in this Trophy Stall Regulation Open tournament so important, as another nationwide tournament, set to be staged after the Linden Brusche’s Classic, looms and makes for interesting reading.
The battle is truly on and the status of the Linden clubs will hinge on how well they perform in this current Trophy Stall Championship.
The Trophy Stall Championship started this month and the Kashif and Shanghai Kings with a better win-loss record over their arch rivals Amelia’s Ward Jets, even though they both have the same amount of points 17; took back the No. 1 spot from the now-ranked No. 2 Jets.
The Victory Valley Royals, now missing from this important championship, currently hold down the No. 3 spot with 10 points.
The Retrieve Raiders, due a better head-to-head win-loss performance over the Half Mile Bulls, were able to nudge ahead and take the No. 4 spot with the Half Mile team sitting in No. 5, while Wismar Pistons with 2 points are at No. 6 and Block 22 Flames who are yet to record a point, No. 7.
So with the Victory Valley Royals not competing in this Trophy Stall tournament they are likely to lose their No. 3 slot at the conclusion, to possibly the Raiders or the Bulls as the battle for the top position continues to be of interest.
Current rankings in the LABA/Trophy Stall Championships are as follows: