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Malta Supreme Christmas B’ball…Kings play Raiders; Bulls bounce against Royals tonight
The long standing rivalry between the number one ranked club in Linden, Kashif and Shanghai Kings and a resurgent Retrieve Raiders will come to the fore this evening while the battle among the west sides Victory Valley Royals and Half Mile Bulls is sure to grasp the attention of fans when the Malta Supreme Christmas basketball championship continues at the
Omar Sam
Mackenzie Sports Club Hard Court.
More-so, the fact that major sponsor Banks DIH has freed up the gates as part of the sponsorship to the organisers the Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA), b’ball lovers are expected to come out in their numbers ahead of the opening match-up at 19:30hrs between the Royals and the Bulls.
This encounter features two sides which have split their recent clashes, Royals having won their match against Bulls when the two played in the Trophy Stall tournament 87-44 and the Bulls coming back to take the recent match-up in the BOSAI championship, 69-48.
And while both clubs have lost their opening matches in this tourney, one may think that the Bulls after winning the recent BOSAI Open Challenge tournament are favoured to get past the Royals. However, the Royals have refocused for this tournament and will be no pushovers; they will be led by former national Alwyn Wilson and past junior national Stephen Couchman and the likelihood of their top player Chris Williams, the junior national forward joining with junior national Marlon Pollydore to boost their attack.
With this the Bulls are sure to be truly tested after their impressive showing, recently. At the same time the Bulls remain a contending team with their best players being Michael Turner and Keon Cameron who will do the bulk of their scoring. Support will come from Sean Easton.
The second game at 21:30hrs should even be more interesting when the Kings face the Raiders. The Kings have shown glimpses of their former dominance but without centre Jason Alonzo are still to rekindle that flame.
The experienced national duo of Steve Neils Jr. and Marvin Hartman along with former national player Abdulla Hamid hold the key to their success this evening. However, with national junior player Orin Rose going through a bad patch they have been limited in their output even with the presence of Omally Sampson.
Taking that into consideration the Raiders, despite losing national forward Dwayne Roberts on indefinite suspension, could pose some problems. If the impact of Alonzo is equal to that of Roberts’ absence then the battle will be well and truly on.
But the Raiders have shown depth in their squad which should be running the ball against the Kings. Their top players have been Sheldron Noel, national player Neil Marks who has not been in the best of touch due to injury, young Omar Sam and Alexander Rose who comes off the bench with energy.
Steve Neils Jr
The Raiders have won both their recent encounters against the Kings, 48-45 and 48-44 in the recent BOSAI tournament after losing to the Kings 51-39 in the 2012 Trophy Stall championship.
Meanwhile, tomorrow at the same venue, Block 22 Flames oppose Bulls in the first game and Royals tackle Pistons in the feature. Admission to these preliminary round matches is free compliments of Banks DIH Limited.
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