THE Plaisance Guardians Basketball Club sounded early alarm bells as a team not to be taken lightly when they created the first upset of this year’s National Basketball Club Championships; defeating Linden’s Amelia’s Ward Jets 66-56 last Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) showpiece dubbed ‘The Road to Mecca’ bounced off at Guyana’s premier indoor facility with a Linden invasion, but, in the end, the city teams had the final say.

Apart from the Guardians, Pepsi Sonics advanced when they downed the Half Mile Bulls 77-60, Trinity Grid Holdings (TGH) Pacesetters dismantled Wismar Pistons 72-36 and the lone team from Linden to pick up a victory, the Kashif and Shanghai Kings, won 77-61 over the Georgetown Masters.
Sparked by the return of point guard Nikkoloi Smith, who flew back to the nest of the Guardians, leaving Colts, the Plaisance team seemed hungry to make an impression to not only the rest of the competition, but also to the recently appointed National coach Darcel Harris who was sitting in the stands paying key attention.
The Guardians point guard poured in a game-high 19 points and also showed off his superior defensive skills, picking up five steals, all of which turned into baskets.
Smith had admirable support from fellow guard Ron Campbell and forward Trenton Woolford who both scored 12 points for the Guardians.
The Amelia’s Ward Jets, one of the semi-finalists of last year’s event, were led by Adrian Webster with 15 points and 12 rebounds and his older brother Allister, contributed 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Former Junior National high jump record-holder Parish Cadogan also had 12 points in the Amelia’s Ward community club loss.
Pepsi Sonics and Half Mile Bulls collided in game one of the four-game card. The DDL-sponsored team were led by the sensational Jason Squires, who scored a game-high 23 points and also hauled in four rebounds and shovelled out four assists and five steals in the process.
Squires’ all-round performance was nothing short of brilliant and his teammate Trevor Smith responded with a good showing of his own; shooting lights out from ‘down town’ on his way to 22 points.
Kurt ‘Gipsy’ Elias, Sonics’ recent acquisition, gave an extraordinary performance, dominating the glass and pulling in 19 rebounds. He also added 11 points to his team’s total.
Half Mile Bulls’ youngsters Terron Welch and Dennis Niles tried everything in their power to fight against the city counterparts, but the duo who each scored 16 points on the night, could have done little by themselves as their teammates shied away under the lights at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The Kashif and Shanghai Kings, one of the stronger teams from the mining town, saw Abdulla ‘Zico’ Hamid, a veteran himself, lead his side with 16 points and eight rebounds as his team were the lone side from Linden to stand sturdy against the City teams.
Rolling back the years, Lugard Mohan scored 26, had eight rebounds and seven assists, Kenrick Thomas scored 16 and Juma Dennis netted 12 points, all in the losing effort.
The final game of the night ended just when it actually started, since Pacesetters ran a clinic against the Wismar Pistons.
Randy Richards’ double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds), along with Shawn Gillis’ 13 points and a complete effort from Pacesetters did more than enough to see them not only past Wismar Pistons, but also book a spot in the tournament’s quarter-finals.
The tournament continues tomorrow with another invasion from the mining town: Colts versus Bankers Trust Falcons and New Amsterdam Warriors playing last year’s runners-up Retrieve Raiders.