THE ultimate question tonight will be, could Linden club side Retrieve Raiders’ hold off Georgetown’s Dyna’s Ravens? in what should be an intriguing final at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation’s ‘Road to Mecca’ 2014 National Club Championship, for Division One clubs in Guyana.The question remains until jump ball and a huge crowd is expected as Ravens will be the side, due to the recent performances against Linden and Georgetown opponents, hands down, dating back to a year ago.
This team from the City while ranked fourth according to the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) has demonstrated their superior brand of play throughout the past year against all and sundry, despite their fourth place finish in the GABA League.
Beating their opponents time and again outside of that lone rating league system used was enough to highlight that Ravens, at a glance, would be the top rated team overall in Guyana.
By reaching this final it is left to the Darcel Harris coached Ravens to formalise their billing as the top club in Guyana.
They have perhaps the most talented player locally in Akeem ‘The Dream’ Kanhai, the all purpose guard/small forward who operates at a level that somehow reflects his superior athletic skills, invariably, to his challengers.
Kanhai along with others like Ryan Stephaney have lifted the Ravens to soar at times way above their opponents and by eliminating the top ranked Pacesetters and number two rankled Colts in getting to this final, is proof of them being right up there among the clubs in Guyana.
As a result, one may find it difficult to imagine Ravens being beaten in this final by their opponents, who are relatively unknown to the City atmosphere. The fact is, however, that they are up against a Retrieve Raiders Club team, though ranked fourth in Linden, and coached by Colin Barker and assisted by Kerwin Abrams, executed similar performances in getting to this final.
And their last semifinal win against Amelia’s Ward Jets showed their resilience without their star forward Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts in their lineup.
But let us not be dismayed since Roberts is likely to be back tonight for the Raiders, all things being equal.
Tonight there will be no easy prey and Raiders will see their captain and former national player Neil Marks as the leader on court. Marks’ shooting is one of his weapons that the Ravens must defend against and his ability to go to the hoop cannot be underestimated. With Roberts and another forward in Louis James playing open basketball, they present a formidable challenge because Roberts is the marquee player who can turn things around for his team.
James can shoot and drive with his ball handling skills and with support from rising centre Stephon Tappin presenting more looks in the paint the Ravens would have to be ready for this Linden challenge.
The Raiders must clear out for Roberts to operate but his ability to not only power his way inside but also the short range jumper will be key factors in a Raiders win.
Their back court with the talented Keiron ‘Bucka’ Cameron and Sheldron Noel, who can shoot, will help open for Roberts and Marks to get into strong scoring positions.
At the same time Noel, Cameron and Alexander Rose must ensure they do not lax in handling the ball and not getting out of control in bringing the ball.
This championship game is the night cap which will be preceded by the third and fourth place playoffs between Linden Jets and Colts of Georgetown.
Jump ball in the first game tonight is at 18:00hrs.