THG Pacesetters fall to Suriname’s De Arend 47-64

ON a night packed with basketball action, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) was the place for basketball fans to be.With three matches slated to be played plus the feature game,fans were in for a treat;and they were not disappointed.In the feature game of the night,which saw THG Pacesetters up against the visiting De Arend of Suriname,the Locals went down 47-64.At the end of the first quarter,which saw De Arend opening the scoring with a deep-three from Xavier Elburg,the visitors were leading 14-8,and already seemed in control.
The second quarter saw the Suriname side passing the ball around the perimeter while crashing the paint for inside shots and lay-ups.
On the Guyana side, Stephan Gillis showed why he is Guyana’s best shooter,scoring multiple three-pointers to keep his side in the game.However, the first half finished with Suriname leading by 11 points,with a score of 27-16.
The third quarter saw more of the same approach from Suriname, with the apparent game plan being to crash the paint and hit the open man for the shot.
The most exciting point of the third quarter came when Mitchell Zeefuik of De Arend tried to crunch a left hand tomahawk over a Pacesetter’s defender. The attempt missed but showed the intentions of the visiting side. The quarter ended 39-44 with Pacesetters still behind
The fourth quarter saw De Arend turning on the jets to score 20 points to Pacesetters 7 to finish the game at 64-47. For the visitors,the scoring was almost evenly distributed between team members,while Stephan Gillis finished with 15 points for the local side.
Meanwhile, in the supporting games,Guyana’s U-16 side fell to the Guyana U-19 side, while Plaisance Guardians thumped Nets.
In their first game back in the arena since qualifying for Centro Basket, the Guyana U-16 team came up short against the Guyana U-19 side. The game finished 65-76 with a first half score of 30-36, with the U-19 leadin by 6 points.
Starting the second half, the offensive deficiency of the National side saw them giving up 20 points while only scoring 9 points in 7 minutes of play. For the next three minutes of the quarter, only 4 points were scored by both sides.
The final quarter saw the U-16 outscoring the U-19 by 21-16,but the earlier damage had been done and the U-19 cruised to victory. Jaleel Duke led the scoring for the U-19 with 16 points, while for the U-16 side, Kevon Wiggins scored 18 points to be the leading game-scorer,albeit in a losing effort.
In the second supporting game,Plaisance Guardians knocked off Republic Bank Nets in a game that saw overtime needed in deciding the winner.
The game finished 83-71 after being tied 71-71 at the end of regulation time. It was a very physical game, getting close from the second half.
Nets led throughout the game with consistent scoring, but the dynamic guard Nikoli Smith kept the Plaisance side in the encounter,whether it be through long range shots or shots in the paint. Smith finished with a game high 32, to give his side the win.