LABA Basketball Festival...JETS TAME BULLS, PISTONS FIRE

LABA Basketball Festival…JETS TAME BULLS, PISTONS FIRE

Aug 20, 2008 Sports

By Edison Jefford
An inconsistent raging bull is tantamount to a toothless poodle! Bulls’ coach Claude ‘Curry Pork’ Williams made all the noise Monday night but it was the Jets with a depleted bench that got the job done in the end.

At the beginning of the game, fans and pundits predicted a traditional easy win for the Glands Trucking Service Bulls squadron against Jets, but at the end of the game those patrons were absolutely stunned!

Jets, with just about seven players to rotate, comfortably finished with a 63–59 win that ensured them a place in the semi–final of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) Basketball Summer Festival.

Jets’ forward Akeem Khanai and centre Allister Webster had 17 points each while point guard Delbert Kitt added 12 points.

The team’s most senior player, shooting guard Neil Simon pitched in with nine points.
Bulls were not without opportunities to win the game but the result mirrors outrageous outbursts from the team’s coach, which seemed to affect them psychologically down the stretch when they needed their best efforts.

Jets were precariously placed on 60 points with the Bulls trailing on 57 with a minute left in the game when the ball was handed to the reliable and experienced Bulls point guard Kurleigh Austin on transition.

Austin defeated the defensive challenges on the left wing on the southern end of the court only to disappoint his team with a missed lay–up. He followed that up seconds later with another fast–break mishap with Jets still on 60 points.

Had Austin made the two attempts, Bulls would have taken a perhaps unassailable lead at 61–60 but instead they were kept on 57 with the clock winning down. They managed to add two in the closing moments but it didn’t matter.

Before this dramatic episode, Bulls’ coach, Williams, was leading his own theatrical series on the sideline with a few oral outbursts that should have gotten the attention of referees Sherwin Henry and Ellis Noel.

Williams rushed to the officials’ table on several occasions to query calls that he felt should have gone in his direction. It is not the first time that Williams’ attitude has seriously affected the performance of the team.

Maybe the team’s sponsor, Glands Trucking Service needs to fetch Williams out of One Mile Wismar–the team’s base–in one of their vehicle trays. If not Williams will continue his unnecessary outrage with the team.

The game started as a close encounter with both teams matching offence and defence in the first two quarters. At half time, none of the competitors had an advantage as scores were levelled 37 apiece heading to the third quarter.

Jets, boasting two new Division One faces in Webster and national junior star Khanai seized a 45–42 point edge in the penultimate period with both Webster and Khanai extremely firm on the defensive board.

However, in the final minute of the third period, Bulls trampled to a 50–45 point lead with Austin on the offensive end. The period ended 52–47 in favour of Bulls but the game was far from over as time proved.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Simon drilled a three–pointer that brought Jets to within two while Khanai finished a reverse lay–up to equalise at 52. Jets raced to a 58–53 points lead mid way through the period and never looked back.

Austin topped Bulls’ scoring with 22 points. National centre and former Piston Nkossi Gurrick was expected to make an appearance for Bulls but at the commencement of the game, Gurrick was not down on the team’s roster.

In the preceding game, the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation national Division One champions, Pistons, thrashed New Ballers 63–46 to also advance to the final–four round of the competition.

Forwards Quincy Jones and Trevor Profitt scored 13 and 11 points respectively while point guard Nevin Grenville and debutant Rensford Alleyne added 12 and 10 points to complete a new offensive four for the team.

Tonight, Patriots come up against Kashif and Shanghai Kings in game one while Alleyene’s Retrieve Raiders play Victory Valley Royals in game two when the event continues at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) court.

Elite Promotions Inc. is the primary sponsor of the super–eight knockout championship that features the top eight teams in the Mining Town. First place takes home $80,000 while second and third places get $40,000 and $20,000.

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LABA Basketball Festival…JETS TAME BULLS, PISTONS FIRE

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