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Roberts says it will be over this weekend
Dwayne Roberts
By Edison Jefford
Dwayne ‘Sugar’ Roberts believes that winning the Super Ward Basketball Championship in its inaugural year will be sweet revenge for the five years the Albouystown team spent in the shadows of the Georgetown Inter-Ward Contest.
Albouystown/Charlestown have never gotten past the semi-final stage of the Georgetown tournament in the past five years, but this year they have made a major leap forward with reaching the Mackeson National Inter-Ward Final.
That feat alone has created a psychological confidence amid the Georgetown-based team that will play Linden’s, Central Mackenzie in the best-of-three Final that begins Saturday and continues Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Roberts admitted Thursday in an interview with Kaieteur Sports that while they have not been able to come together for practice sessions as a unit, there are several alternatives to motivate the team, which are currently being implemented.
“We have guys like (Akeem) Kanhai and ‘Two Feet’ (Kevin Joseph) who wants to play at another level, so this tournament is not just about coming out and play for them, it has a lot more meaning for those guys,” Roberts indicated.
He said that all the players, including Nicko Fraser and Trevor McCleod has been putting in their private work to ensure that they stay fit for the Final because bad weather has not allowed them to fully come together as a team for practice.
“We were not able to practice as a team because of the rain but I can assure you that the players have all been doing their little bit. From a psychological standpoint, I think we’re right there in terms of preparation,” Roberts believed.
“Throughout this tournament and the years past, I always knew that we just needed to get the right peak at the right time and we will be able to beat people easily. We have beaten Central Mackenzie before remember that,” he boasted.
Albouystown had beaten Central Mackenzie in the group stages of the tournament to top Group ‘B’, where Central finished second. Roberts believes that Albouystown just needs to shut down Mackenzie’s main players to win again.
“Defence is the key, and once we win the battle of the boards, I don’t see a problem. We just need to keep Stevie (Steve Neils Jr.) and Marvin (Hartman) below scoring averages, and we have this game easily,” Roberts analysed.
He said that Albouystown team cannot forget that they are a “ghetto” team in the Final and try to play classical basketball.
He thinks that the toughness of the team has to surge forward if they are to have any chance at beating Central Mackenzie.
Roberts made it clear that they are not anticipating a third game. “We are taking this one game at a time but we plan to put this away this weekend. The paper (prize money) is one of the factors that are motivating the guys as well,” he said.
The winner of the mega championship takes home $500,000 while second place gets $250,000 and third place $150,000.
Fourth place will also cash in with $75,000 with the MVP and other awardees also getting major prizes.
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