Pacesetters topples Ravens in top-of-the-table showdown

Apr 03, 2012 Sports

– floodgate wide-open as GABA League intensifies

By Edison Jefford
Ravens and Pacesetters produced a quality basketball game befitting a duel between the two best clubs in Georgetown with Pacesetters prevailing in the last five minutes to secure the crucial win that kept their hope of topping the Georgetown League alive.
Pacesetters suffered an upset the night before against a reformed Bounty Colts team, and needed to win against the top-ranked Ravens to ensure that they are still in the reckoning in Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Division I League.
When it mattered, as it did against Ravens, the new-look Pacesetters came up with a performance that local basketball had missed for a long time; Pacesetters prevailed 75-70 after the preceding quarters of what is always a grudge contest swung in both directions.
Veteran shooting guard, Naylon Loncke was clinical for Pacesetters on a court he knows like his palms. Loncke scored 25 points with point guard, Travis Burnett adding 14 points; guard, Steffon Gillis and forward Royston Siland had 10 points each.
Akeem Kanhai scored 19 points for Ravens as Jermaine Slater added 16 points and Ryan Gullen 11 points. The defeat was the first for Ravens in the League, and could decide how they finish in what is expected to be a three-month long competition.
Unusually, Burnett, who Pacesetters Coach, Robert Cadogan, likes to give license to manage the team’s offense, was subdued against Ravens; he is a natural scorer, but Burnett played within his defensive limitations to support Loncke, who was on fire.
Ravens got the best offensive start with the young combination of Kanhai, Slater and Gullen into their best game from jump-ball. The top-ranked Ravens jumped out to a 19-16 points’ lead at the end of the first quarter, but had an offensive meltdown in the second.
Pacesetters upped their defensive tempo on their home-court, and literally shutdown the Ravens offense. The free-scoring in the initial period ended as Ravens only managed to score nine points in the second period, succumbing to Pacesetters’ excellent transition basketball. Pacesetters took a 10-point 38-28 points lead at halftime.
The second half produced an even contest as both teams showed why they are among the best in the country. Ravens recovered from what can be called an offensive slump to dominate the third quarter and regain the lead.
Ravens Coach, Darcel Harris opted for man-to-man defence in the penultimate period of normal time and it brought them back in the game. Ravens led 55-52 with Rudy James and Gullen doing an excellent job on the defensive end and Kanhai producing the points.
However, Pacesetters went to their most senior player, Loncke, who kept knocking down the big shots, in the final period with Burnett contented with distributing the ball. It was a good indicator of what can be expected when the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) finally decide to host the long-overdue national final between these two teams.

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Pacesetters topples Ravens in top-of-the-table showdown

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