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Guyana take on D.C. Jammers in Grand Finale tonight
– after thrashing the Brooklyn/Queens Bulldogs
By Edison Jefford
The so-far impressive senior national basketball team will take on the Washington D.C. Jammers tonight in the Grand Finale of the National Community Basketball League (NCBL) International Weekend at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall beginning at 7pm.
The national team set up the series-deciding showdown with the D.C. Jammers after thrashing the Brooklyn/Queens Bulldogs 85-50 Sunday night. The Guyanese had fallen three points short of the D.C. Jammers in what would have been an impressive win Saturday night.
Akeem Kanhai
Akeem Kanhai and Ryan Gullen scored 15 points each for Guyana against the Bulldogs while the nippy point guard, Rodwell ‘Kobe’ Fortune scored 12 points. Stephan Gillis and Randy Richardson were also among the points with 10 apiece.
For the Bulldogs, Ashford Johnson had nine points while Alwyn Bellamy scored seven points to lead their scoring. Marlon Thornton, Ronald Alkins and Shane Joseph finished with six points each to aid the dying cause of the struggling Bulldogs on their first tour.
The game was more or less over from the start, as Guyana, clearly on a mission to reinforce that they deserved to compete at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) Championships last year, was clinical on both ends of the court.
So filled with confidence going into the game, Guyana rested its national centre, Jason Alonzo, who had shut down Lancelot Loncke the night before, and forward Royston Siland, who is a thorn in flesh on the boards on the defensive end especially.
The job was left up to the less-experienced forward, Richardson and Slater to get it done and both players stepped up big. Guyana completely out-classed the Brooklyn/Queens Bulldogs and resorted to some entertaining plays in the second half of the game.
On one such occasion, Stephon ‘Penny’ Henry, who had a deserved taste of national exposure broke away with the ball down the offensive end following a rebound, noticed Fortune cutting on the left wing, faked the entire Brooklyn defence as if he was going to layup the ball with his right hand, then turned in mid air and dished the ball to Fortune, who had a clear passage to finish a left handed layup.
The play ignited the crowd at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, who were treated to a dunk exhibition from D.C Jammers’ Steffon Farley and Fortune, who is a pint-sized guard. Fortune leaped over Henry for a massive stuff that got the full approval of patrons while Farley tripled his human props for a similar dunk that brought the house down.
Gillis nailed a big three-pointer near the end of the third quarter to give Guyana their biggest lead at 45-25 before speeding to the win. The D.C Jammers played the Bulldogs last night in a game they were expected to win, setting up the series-decider against Guyana tonight.
Guyana will certainly go into the game tonight with immense confidence form their performance thus far and will be looking to turn the tables on the D.C Jammers and ensure that they do not leave these shores unbeaten. It will certainly be a game to watch.
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