By Rawle Toney

PLAISANCE Guardians, Retrieve Raiders and Pepsi Sonics were the latest teams to book their ticket to the ‘Super 8’ of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation’s (GABF) National Club Championship – The Road to Mecca III.Playing at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Saturday night, Plaisance Guardians eased past Republic Bank Nets 72 – 62, while Linden’s Retrieve Raiders made light work of New Amsterdam Warriors 63 – 44 and Pepsi Sonics schooled the University of Guyana (UG) Trojans in a 73 – 64 closely fought encounter.

Apart from the Raiders/Warriors game, which was a one-sided contest from tipoff, the other two matches left those in attendance on the edge of their seats through the four quarters of play.

The Guardians, led by an explosive and unstoppable Nikkoloi Smith, who poured in a game-high 29 points, was clearly the crowd favourites.

Smith capped his exceptional performance with a few fast break dunks and grabbed nine rebounds in the process. Michael Richards (10 points, six rebounds) and Ron Campbelle (seven points, six rebounds) were the other key performers for the Plaisance unit.

Mortimer Williams, a usual standout for the Nets only managed 11 points on an off night but despite Darrian Lewis’ valiant effort, scoring 17 points and hauling in four ‘boards’ the Republic Bank sponsored team was outplayed primarily in the backcourt by the Guardians.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel Archibald led all scorers with 23 points and Ewart Smith netted 22, but it wasn’t enough to help the Trojans avoid elimination at the hands of Pepsi Sonics.

It was a seesaw affair as the two teams were locked in a heated exchange until Trevor Smith’s 3-point shot sailed the Sonics to a 24 – 20 lead with eight minutes to play in the second quarter.

Yannick December and Kerwin Jackson consecutive fast break plays then helped Pepsi Sonics to a 32-20 lead six minutes before halftime and would head into the third quarter up 36 – 28.

However, the University of Guyana team would make a run early in the ‘third’, as (Ewart) Smith’s layup tied the game at 38 when the Trojans went on a 10 – 2 run.

Nonetheless, Coach Mark Agard’s men would bounce back and end the penultimate period up by two points (48 – 46).

In the fourth, Archibald and Smith finished fast breaks for 58-53 lead with seven minutes to play in fourth quarter

Tied 60-60 (Trevor) Smith 3-pointer made it 63 – 60 with under three minutes to play and Pepsi Sonics holding on for the 73-64 point victory.

Jason Squires went for 18 on the night and eight rebounds, while Smith (15), Kerwin Jackson (13) and Earl O’Neil (12 points, 14 rebounds) were the top performance for the victorious Sonics club.

The Retrieve Raiders, a pre-game favourite in the clash with the New Amsterdam Warriors, lived up to all expectations in their comprehensive win.

The game saw the return of Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts; the tenacious power-forward who was banned by the GABF recently.

Roberts was in his usual no-nonsense mood, dropping 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds, causing a frontcourt nightmare for the Berbicians.

Alexander Rose and Jason Alonso scored 11 points apiece for the Raiders while Carlos Crandon was the lone Berbice ‘baller’ in double digits, netting 10 points.

The tournament continued last evening with another triple-header to close out the Round-of-16 matches, while the quarter-finals will be played on March 11, semi-finals on March 13, and final on Saturday March 19.

Apart from the handsome first place prize of $500 000, the team finishing second will go home with $250 000, while third and fourth-place finishers will receive $150 000 and $100 000 respectively.