LTI dish out second major loss to Kwakwani

Apr 16, 2011 Sports

Joel Webster releases an uncontested jumper that he nailed to keep LTI ahead in the second half against Kwakwani.

– Royals 2011 Championships enter Final Four

By Edison Jefford

Kwakwani Secondary did not learn much from their second half mistake against McKenzie High Wednesday. In all fairness to them, the team had little time to make the necessary adjustments in their second major game against Linden Technical Institute (LTI) yesterday. The result was that Kwakwani repeated their second half offensive slump after a first half blitz to lose 43-60 against LTI, whose centre, Joel Webster produced a superb performance in the middle of the second half to put his team ahead and maintain excellent momentum.
Webster scored 22 points while national junior point guard, Marlon Pollydore scored 13 points in an unmatched offensive effort to secure a big win. For Kwakwani, former national juniors, guard Dave Plass and Dominic Douglas had 14 and 10 points respectively. Kwakwani came into the second half with a 26-24 points lead that should not have been so close after Plass was three-for-three from ‘down town’ and Ted Rogers got into the parameter offence for Kwakwani that led to a 23-10 lead five minutes before halftime. In four minutes of ‘running time’, LTI went on a 14-3 run against ordinary defence from the side that is among the favourites to win the tournament. Kwakwani entered the Victory Valley Royals 2011 Schools’ Championships as one of favourites along with LTI and McKenzie High.
The threatening signs of an offensive and defensive breakdown in the first half proved true when the game resumed after the break. Kwakwani went back to parameter offence, taking a very high percentage of shots from beyond arc, most of which avoided the net.
Webster had an easy put-back at the other end that brought his school to within one point 35-34, before Stanley McIntosh helped LTI equalise the scores at 36 apiece.
Webster then added one of his baselines moves to the records to give his team their first lead of the game.
With the previous four points to his name, LTI up 40-36 with 14 minutes left in the game, centre Webster added four more points that included a clinical baseline jumper to ensure he was rested with his team having a healthy 44-36 points lead in the deciding minutes.
Kwakwani’s defence fatally collapsed in the last five minutes of the game and to add to the woes their offence could not produce any substantial points on possession.
The team that evidently had a better fan-base at the McKenzie Basketball Court lost another crunch-time battle. Pollydore was allowed to entertain the crowd that turned up to witness the big game with a lot of his ‘Showtime’ moves. He combined with Webster to ensure that LTI secure the second seed in a competitive series behind the unbeaten titans, McKenzie High.
Kwakwani is likely to finish third in the rankings ahead of the Final Four, which is slated for the Linden Town Week.
In another game yesterday, defending champions, Linden Foundation beat a hapless Wisburg Secondary 36-30 with Marlon Persaud scoring 11 points.
Delon Williams made 10 points for Wisburg, a team that is likely to exit the 2011 Championships.

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