Latest update February 14th, 2025 8:22 AM
Albouystown/Charlestown face Lodge/Meadowbrook in mammoth showdown tonight
By Edison Jefford
The National Community Basketball League (NCBL) intensifies tonight when the action shifts to the Cliff
Alwyn Bellamy
Anderson Sports Hall with two unbeaten seasoned campaigners at the Inter-Ward level meeting to settle a dispute that has long been established on the court.
Digicom-sponsored Albouystown/Charlestown, who are the Inter-Ward defending Champions in the competition and Guinness Bar-sponsored Lodge/Meadowbrook will meet in the feature game tonight after a sophomore first game that is scheduled to begin at 6pm.
Nigel Hinds and Associates’ North Ruimveldt will play West Side Boys in the first game with an intriguing encounter to follow between Albouystown/Charlestown and Lodge/Meadowbrook that transforms ‘street-ball’ to the more established indoor format of the game.
One of the good things that the Coordinators of the NCBL have done is to strip the participating teams of guest players and make it mandatory that players represent their communities. Such an interesting move will reflect the true quality of teams in the competition.
Suffice it to say that when Albouystown/Charlestown last won the Inter-Ward title, they acquired the services of Kevin ‘Two Feet’ Joseph, one of the best guards in Guyana, and Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar’ Roberts, one of the best forwards around too. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Albouystown/Charlestown in this competition without those two players.
The real players from the community will have their time to shine tonight but there are still some experienced players in the Albouystown/Charlestown fold. Those include forwards, Nicko Fraser and Marvin Hilliman and guards, Trevor McCleod and Alwyn Bellamy.
Nicko Fraser
Of the four players, only Fraser, and perhaps Hilliman has been consistently playing ball with McCleod and Bellamy more committed to work; the issue here is that Albouystown/Charlestown is challenged against Lodge/Meadowbrook to find the necessary depth to win.
McCleod and Bellamy are good guards with extensive clubs experiences, but their fitness will be tested against Lodge/Meadowbrook that quietly came from behind, showing great endurance last Thursday to beat a quality Steffon Gillis-led Plaisance/Vryheid’s Lust team.
The brains behind Lodge/Meadowbrook is Pelham Doris, who has no interest in scoring, but has burgeoning assists and steals columns usually at the end of games. Doris is the play-maker on his team with forwards, Mortimer Williams and Fabian Johnson getting the job done.
Lodge/Meadowbrook has also gotten a boost from ‘young gun’, Dorrian Lewis, who was on the money against Plaisance. Their encounter against Albouystown/Charlestown will be tough with both teams originating from South Georgetown, the home of ‘hard-nose’ (physical) basketball in Guyana.
Twist it or turn it, the game tonight among Albouystown/Charlestown and Lodge/Meadowbrook is bigger than the NCBL. It is a mammoth encounter and almost a cultural battle between the two teams that has far more at stake in the competition than just the NCBL title.
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