Albouystown sweep Central Mackenzie

May 11, 2010 Sports

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– win elusive basketball Championship

Central Mackenzie grinded in the first half to remain in contention, but when the vibes of the ghetto started to pound the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in the second half, a Cinderella Story ended in a blow-out that produced a clean sweep.
Albouystown/Charlestown, who branded themselves ‘The Pride of the Ghetto’, made one mistake; they really had no broom, but it was clear that a possible Game 3 was never on their minds in the National Super Ward Basketball Final.
It was the end of the road for the Linden-based Central Mackenzie – a composition that had defeated strong North Ruimveldt and Wortmanville teams on a Cinderella run to the Final, and one that nearly pulled off a stunning win in Game 1.
The chances Central Mackenzie got in Game 1 Saturday night did not surface in Game 2 of the best-of-three Final Sunday night as Albouystown thrashed them 82-62 to seal the deal and cash in on the half of a million dollar first place prize.
Mackenzie’s Marvin Hartman must be groaning at the outcome after he missed those two crunch-time free throws with eight seconds left in the first game, which would have given his team a one-point edge that could have produced a win.
Hartman’s jitters cost his team $250,000, which is what Central Mackenzie will collect for placing second in the tournament. Albouystown, on the other hand, have moved from the shadows of the Georgetown Inter-Ward to the national spotlight.
Dwayne ‘Sugar’ Roberts got them there with 25 points and 12 rebounds Sunday night; he had four other players from a strong supporting cast in double figures. Roberts had scored 20 points and taken nine rebounds the night before.
Travis ‘Cook-Up’ Foster scored 15 points and took eight rebounds; Akeem ‘The Dream’ Kanhai finished with 13 points and six rebounds; Rodwell ‘Kobe’ Fortune had 12 points and four rebounds and Kevin Joseph 10 points for Albouystown.
They combined to dismantle Central Mackenzie, who only had Steve Neils Jr. in double figures with 22 points. Jason Alonzo had nine points and 12 rebounds while Hartman had another inconsistent night with eight points and six rebounds.
The first half of the game was well balanced on the offence end with Neils pouring jump shots from all angles and Lawrence DeCosta getting the occasional put back, which was a main reason why the first quarter was tied at 17 points at the end.
The offensive exchanges continued in the second period with Fortune attempting to cease the scoring of Neils with excellent defence. Neils was forced to play a high-post game for the sake of Fortune’s quick hands. He kept Mackenzie in the hunt.
However, it was clear that Roberts was bringing his ‘A’ game, which climaxed in the first half with a baseline buzzer-beater that created frenzy at the Sports Hall. The pop-fake and jumper thrilled those present at the indoor arena.
Once Roberts found that range, it was hard to guard him as he exploited anyone Central Mackenzie threw at him on defence. His performance was purely leadership, he wanted the ball and he attacked the middle.
His energy hauled Kanhai and all the other offensive players along for the onslaught that was unleashed in the second half.
Central Mackenzie was in the game until the end of the third quarter when they went down by seven, 57-50. However, the tide obviously turned when Neils visible expressed his frustration over a rebound Fortune had taken.
The guard/forward climbed over DeCosta, Alonzo and Hartman to snatch a big rebound that he also finished in the last quarter. Neils stopped, placed his hands on his waist and looked at the trio in understandable disappoint.
Neils was obviously peeved that no one blocked out the pint-sized Fortune. Yesterday he told Kaieteur Sport that their spirits were obviously broken and if he had gotten a spirited effort from the rest of his team, they would have done better.
“I figure that game one was a game we should have won, so when we did not win most of the guys’ spirits were broken in game 2 and we just gave up. If we had played with a little more spirit, I think we could have done better,” Neils said.
“I don’t mind losing but if some of the guys had played with that same spirit they had in the first game, we could’ve lost knowing that we fought, but we just gave up and stopped playing,” Neils continued.
Asked about his reaction over the rebound Fortune took, he said: “at no time a little guard is supposed to penetrate and a get a rebound over your big men”. Neils is expected to be a leading candidate for the All-Star team for this weekend.
All was not lost for Linden Sunday night, however. Christianburg stunned North Ruimveldt 76-74 in the third and fourth place playoffs, which meant that they will collect $150,000 while North gets $75,000 for fourth.
Dwight Cooper came up big for Christianburg with 21 points and six rebounds as Quincy Jones added 16 points and Trevor Profitt 10 points. What was remarkable was that they won without the services of national centre, Nkossi Gurrick.
Ryan Stephanie scored 22 points and seven rebounds while Darcel Harris had 15 points and Ryan Gullen 14 points and eight rebounds. North, the current Georgetown Inter-Ward Champs, would be disappointed with that performance.
The curtains will officially come down on the tournament this weekend when the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association host the award ceremony where Albouystown will take on the tournament’s All-Stars.

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