By Rawle Toney in Barbados

GUYANA defeated Barbados 79-68 on Sunday evening in game three to win their three-game Goodwill Series 2-1.

The Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium was buzzing as both sides received good support.

While it was a collective team effort from the Guyanese, 18-year-old Stanton Rose, the captain, was impressive in his 15-points game, shooting 3/5 from behind the arc, nine assist, eight rebounds and three steals.

Ray Victor had 13 points, Felice Hamilton ended the night with 11 points, and Travis Burnett (5), who didn’t had a big scoring night, but was Guyana’s lock-down defender on the floor.

Anthony Moe (9), Travis Belgrave (8), Shaine Webster (7), Orlan Glasgow (6) and Harold Adams (5) were the other notable performers.

Coach Junior Hercules went back with the starting team that brought him success in game two, with Rose, Moe, Glasgow, Adams and Webster.

Victor, who hails from the British Virgin Islands (BVI), boosted the team’s defence in the back court.

Barbados had no answer for Guyana, with Rose playing unselfishly and finding the open man as Guyana led for the majority of the game, including being up by as many as 19 points.

Having ended the first quarter 24 – 20, Guyana ended the second 46 – 34. The ‘Bajans’ were outplayed in almost every department of the game.

Behind Rose’ offensive outburst and Burnett’s stifling defence, Guyana had their best period in the third.

Not only did they stop Barbados from scoring, but they outperformed the home team to close the penultimate period 62 – 45.

Barbados had their best scoring stanza in the fourth, as Andre DeHart (13), Junior Moore (10) and Deroni Hurly (9) tried valiantly, but the game was way out of reach.

It was Guyana’s first time back on the Island since Lugard Mohan captained them to a bronze medal finish at the CBC tournament (formerly CARICOM Championship) 18 years ago (2000).

While the women won the tournament in 1996 in Trinidad and Tobago, the men’s best placing was second in the 1994 tournament in Guyana.

At the CBC tournament in Suriname, the Guyanese Men are in Group A with hosts and rivals Suriname, along with St Lucia, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, while Group B comprises Barbados, Bermuda, Antigua & Barbuda, Haiti and Montserrat.