NORTH Ruimveldt Ravens showed their class once again on Saturday by axing Linden’s Victory Valley Royals in the final of the Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF) Elite 16-knockout Basketball Championship at the National Gymnasium Hard Court.

Defending One Guyana basketball League champions, Ravens showed their prowess as a basketball unit to take a 75-53-point victory in front of a raucous crowd.
It was a close game at the end of the first quarter as Ravens led 15-14, but they started to pull away in the second period as they went into the half up, 37-28.

Ravens’ Nikkoloi Smith, skipper Dominic Vincente, Shemar Huntley, and Ryan Stepheney again stepped up for the team to secure another title win for the storied side.
After the second-quarter showing by the city side, Linden’s Victory Valley Royals never mounted a successful comeback, despite Harold Adams and Orland Glasgow dropping 15 points each in the contest.

Stepheney and Smith were Ravens’ top scorers, as they both finished with 14 points each in a good all-round performance for the Ravens unit. They had support from Vincente, 10, and Huntley, 13 points.

The clash ended with Ravens taking a 22- point victory, 75-53.
The tournament featured club teams from Bartica, Linden, Georgetown, and Berbice, and served as a precursor to the One Guyana league that is set to tip off in the coming weeks.
Ravens earned themselves $300,000 as the winner, with Victory Valley Royals having to settle for the second-place trophy $100,000.

The competition was sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport, the National Sports Commission, MVP Sports and Praetorian Security.