By Daniel Haynes

THE final game of the Road to Mecca III that ended prematurely on March 19, due to a series of controversial calls by the referees, will be replayed.At the time of the stoppage, nine minutes remained in the fourth quarter and the score stood at 54-51 in favour of Colts.
At a meeting last Saturday all parties agreed that the final would be replayed at a date to be announced. Raiders will be reprimanded and the officiating referees for the final will be drawn from the international pool.
The cause of the premature end was a disagreement over a technical foul being called on a Raiders player. This resulted in two more technical fouls being awarded to Raiders players after a confrontation with the referees.
Finally, after more confrontations the Raiders team walked off the playing area and out of the playing venue.
President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF), Nigel Hinds sought to remedy the situation and after reviewing the game video decided to overrule the referee’s decision and restart the game.
Hinds also acted as match commissioner and managed to have the Raiders players return to the court to continue the game.
The interjection of Hinds did not sit well with the manager and Colts players who then walked out to protest the continuation.
This was after waiting 40 minutes without receiving any word on what was happening. As a result of this, the match outcome was left hanging above the rim.
Looking ahead to the rematch, team members of Colts voiced their opinions on what went down and what will play out.
Guard Curtly English was the first to comment: “I feel that we reacted in the proper manner. Raiders behaved inappropriately no matter the circumstances.”
He continued: “I think we should follow up on the rematch and win.” Team members Clebert Thornhill, Kurt Elias and Rey Williams also echoed similar sentiments. Guard Dellon LaRose, however, was of a different opinion, stating, “Colts shouldn’t replay the game, we are the winners by right of the rules.”
Team manager Michael Singh opined: “We are replaying this game with the future of basketball in mind. The incident left Guyana’s basketball at a bad point and a setback for the game.
From a developmental perspective we will play the game. This shows a lot about our character and the standard of excellence we bring to the game,” he concluded.
This game gives Guyanese a chance to answer the debate of who would have truly won that night had those calls not been made.