Pistons battle Royals in LABA feature tomorrow

May 20, 2010 Sports

Quincy Jones

– Kings play Raiders in supporting semi-final game

By Edison Jefford

Fresh off their third place finish in the just-concluded Mackeson Super Wards Basketball Championships, Christianburg will split back into its two main clubs, Wismar Pistons and Victory Valley Royals for tomorrow night’s feature game.
The two teams will clash in the main event of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) Super-Eight semi-finals after Kings take on Raiders in the preceding game that will also decide which team play in Sunday’s Grande Finale.
An interesting detail about the semis would be the fact that most of the players, from Kings especially, had an opportunity to sharpen their game in the Mackeson Super Wards that included two teams from Linden, the other being Mackenzie.
Central Mackenzie, who reached the final of the tournament, was largely made up of players from Kings. Those included top performers, Jason Alonzo, Marvin Hartman and eventual Most Valuable Player candidate, Steve Neils Jr.

Steve Neils

Jason Alonzo

The exposure should serve Kings well and make them the easy favourites against Raiders who will look to Luis James and the Hunte brothers for an upset. The young team has been playing well, which is why they have reached the Final Four.
The featured game is expected to be an intense battle for supremacy since both teams that will play made up the Christianburg unit that competed in the Mackeson National contest and placed third, which definitely attested to their quality.
Pistons, who remain the National Club Champions, will look to its usual strong three with forwards Quincy Jones, Trevor Profit and guard Nevin Grenville looking to prolong their consistent and prolific contributions to the well-managed team.
Conversely, Pistons will oppose a team that has more dept than many other teams locally. Royals have had a string of successes in basketball in Linden at all levels of the sport and it is important to note that that normally fuels confidence.
Shooting guard, Chris Williams and point guard Anson Durant will play among a host of other quality players for Victory Valley team. It was no doubt the fitting feature for what should be an entertaining night of basketball in Linden.
President of the LABA, Abdulla Hamid told Kaieteur Sport yesterday that all systems are being put in place to persist with the tournament. Banks DIH has sponsored the $100,000 first prize while second, third and fourth places are to receive $60,000, $40,000 and $20,000 respectively from the Linden sub-association.