… Jets, Raiders and Colts also through

THE Cliff Anderson Sports Hall came alive on Sunday evening when quarterfinals action got on the way in the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation’s (GABF) ‘Road to Mecca’ tournament. Scores turned out at Guyana’s premier indoor facility to witness a night of memorable and heartbreaking basketball in the knock-out tournament.
When the final whistle was blown and the lights were turned off, Amelia’s Ward Jets, Retrieve Raiders, Colts and Ravens were the four teams remaining.
In the battle of the clubs from the Linden Amateur Basketball Federation (LABA), Amelia’s Ward Jets defeated Victory Valley Royals 67-56 and Retrieve Raiders sent the number one seeded Kings packing 57-55.
Colts had the better of Pepsi Sonics 65-51 and in the battle of the night Ravens edged Pacesetters 61-58.
Even before the two teams played when fans found out that, based on the fixtures, two of Guyana’s biggest clubs were on a collision course, interest grew immensely.
After it was announced that the two sides would meet in the quarter-finals, many were baffled as to why they were meeting so early, so they turned up in their numbers and filled the seats at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall to witness what they believed would have been the best game of the tournament thus far.
They certainly didn’t disappoint the fans who waited for hours to catch the final game of the night which was decided only in the final minute of the fourth quarter after Travis Burnett had an offensive foul called against him for pushing Ravens’ Marlon Rodrigues to get an inbound pass.
Ravens and national point guard Ryan Stephney led all scorers with a game-high 25 points while Akeem ‘the Dream’ Kanhai had 12 for the Ravens.
Pacesetters’ Stephon Gillis was lights out from down town, scoring a team-high 23 points for his side but will now have to sit out the rest of the tournament.
In the opening game, point guard Dave Causway continues to impress, netting 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds for the Colts’ win over Pepsi Sonics. He was supported by Shelroy Thomas with 16 points.
For Pepsi Sonics, Jason Squires’ impressive run in the tournament was ended. The player had 11 points to go along with his 10 rebounds while Trevor Smith scored 17 points.
Meanwhile, in another closely fought game, Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts had a monster night with a double-double (21 points and 20 rebounds) to lead the Retrieve Raiders over the Kings. Roberts was supported by Keon Cameron with 20.
Omally Sampson had a decent game for the Kings with 15 points and eight rebounds. Orin Rose (14) and Steve Neils Jr (10) were the other top performers for the losers.
In the Jets/Royals match-up, Shane Webster enjoyed a wonderful evening on the floor for the Amelia’s Ward-based team, netting 22 points and hauling down 15 rebounds. The Jets’ other key performers on the night were Emmanuel Archibald (14) and Rodwell Pellew (11).
Only Harold Adams with 18 points, 10 rebounds and Ron Beckles 11 points, 13 rebounds showed any resistance to the Jets’ pressure.
The tournament continues on Sunday, March 16 with the semi-finals. In game one, Jets play Raiders and Colts battle Ravens.