IT was a disappointing finish for the Guyanese contingent who lost to the Jamaica Jamrockerz in the final of the inaugural Mega Mart/SDF JamRockerz Classics, 82-67.
It was the Guyanese side’s second matchup against the same opponents who had won 93-87 in the first game of the tournament. Coming into the game on a two-game winning streak after the loss, the team felt confident in their ability to win the game.
From the tip-off the game proved to be a very physical one with both teams playing through a lot of contact. For Guyana, a low first quarter total of 11 saw Jamaica take a four-point lead, 15-11, behind hot shooting from Kemar McLeish who had 8 points.

In the second quarter, the lead for the Jamaicans started to grow with Guyana struggling to find their offensive groove.
The team managed to put up 13 points behind production from Shane Webster who had 8 while Nikkoloi Smith and Akeem Kanhai had 8 and 4 respectively.
The quarter finished with Jamaica up by 11 points 35-24.
In the second half the game started to drift away from the Guyanese who had their worst defensive effort, allowing Jamaica to score 27 points to their 15. For Jamaica, Damian Staple, Lynford Brown and Anthony White were the main contributors to the 27-point explosion.

While Jamaica were able to score at will Guyana struggled and the 8-man rotation did not help. Top producers in Terron Welch, Stanton Rose and Nikkoloi Smith found it difficult to find their groove.
The final quarter was the best scoring period for the Guyanese, who garnered 28 points to Jamaica’s 20 but at that point the game was already over.
For the visiting side, Rose finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds while Welch, Smith and Kanhai ended with 15, 12 and 12 respectively. On the Jamaican side it was balanced scoring with Brown leading all scorers with 22, McLeish 16 and Staple and White 10 points each.
According to assistant coach Junior Hercules, “It’s a disappointing loss for us, of course we wanted to win the entire tournament. We should have beaten this team the first night we played them.”

Hercules was also of the opinion that the experience was good for the youngsters on the team who got a firsthand assessment of the higher level of play required.
In the third place game, the Jamaican U-21 side defeated the U.S. Libertyville Vipers 63-60. For the winners, Ronaldo McKenzie finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds with Daniel Martillier adding 10 points and 17 rebounds. For the Vipers, Mike Skinner had 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals and 6 assists with Morris Roberts scoring 12 points and 6 rebounds.
For the Guyana team who will return home today, the bright spots include Terron Welch and Stanton Rose who led the team in scoring with almost 50 points apiece throughout the games.
However, the limited use of the Under-23 MVP Travis Belgrave and shooter Nathan Saul in the new-look team will prompt many persons to ask questions.