THE all-round, talented Half Mile Bulls proved too strong for the Retrieve Raiders as the team from the western half of the Demerara River outscored them (Raiders) in the final strait to secure a comprehensive 64-47 victory and capture the Malta Supreme Christmas Open basketball championship.A packed Mackenzie Sports Club Hard Court was witness to the Bulls’ dominating performance to lift the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) organised tournament title on Saturday last.

Led by national guard Keon Cameron and former national power forward Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts, the Raiders raced to a 10-7 in a low-scoring first quarter.

Roberts and Cameron continued their good final showing, but the Bulls through their shooting forward Kevin Easton, Keifer Tappin and national-guard Michael Turner, turned the game around for the Half Mile team and rebounded to take a one point (25 – 24) lead at the halfway mark.

By this time Roberts had scored 10 of his 14 points as he remained a focus of the Bulls going into the third period of play.

While Roberts seemed to be doing much for his side, the support of Cameron fell, with the point guard scoring seven points and would later be held scoreless after, until the final seconds of the game as the total team effort of the Bulls would take centre stage.

Holding the Raiders to 12 points and danger man Roberts scoreless, while netting 22 in the third quarter, the Bulls would take control as power forward Traven ‘Babylon’ Dryden made his presence felt inside the paint, coming up with big baskets and leading them to a 46-37 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

This is where the versatility of the Bulls was mirrored, with Terron Welch in the company of Turner and to a lesser extent Niles Dennis, turning on the heat on the experienced Raiders, outscoring them (Raiders) 22-10 in front of their loyal fans.

Welch turned in a Most Valuable Player (MVP) performance to end with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block shot, Turner had a game-high 17 points, three assists and two steals as power forward Dryden scored 11 points, raked in 15 ‘boards’ and dished off five assists.

The Raiders’ best players were Roberts with 14 points and 13 rebounds to go with six steals, while Cameron had 10 points and Hartman five points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

The Malta Supreme Brand Manager Clayton McKenzie was on hand along with Shondel Easton, the Linden Branch Manager for Banks DIH and president of the LABA Lawrence Simon to meet the teams before the final.

The trophy and prizes won along with the various replicas and medals and prizes will be handed over at the official presentation to be held later this week.

By Joe Chapman