Latest update February 14th, 2025 8:22 AM
‘Sugar’-less Raiders ground Jets; Ravens ‘tie-up’ Colts -Teams to clash in National Basketball C/ship Final
By Edison Jefford
Retrieve Raiders and Dyna’s Ravens will play for the National Division I Basketball title Sunday after winning their respective semi-final games at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in the ‘Road to Mecca’ Nation-Wide Championships.
Raiders, without Dwayne ‘Sugar’ Roberts, who was unavailable owed to his work commitments, grounded Amelia’s Ward Jets 55-50, with Neil Marks stepping up to pour in 20 points and seven rebounds, while Louis James added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Raiders’ guard, Deval Wilson (left) blows to the glass for a lay-up against Amelia’s Ward Jets Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The ‘Sugar’-less Raiders overhauled an eight-point third quarter Jets lead (40-32) to seize control of the game in the final quarter for the win. Centre, Shane Webster scored 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Alistair Webster added 11 points for Jets.
In the second semi-final, Ravens displayed a high level of basketball IQ to ‘tie-up’ Colts for a 71-68 win in the final minutes of an intense contest. The win for Georgetown’s Ravens set up a final showdown with Linden’s Retrieve Raiders on Sunday.
Akeem Kanhai was at his best with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Ryan Stephney scored 13 points. Dominic Vincente had 12 points while Jermaine Slater scored nine points, but racked in 16 rebounds for the top Georgetown club.
Shelroy Thomas almost pulled off a remarkable win for Colts with his prolific scoring when he dropped 22 points. Forward Steve McSeen scored 13 points while Nikkoloi Smith added 12 and Nicko Fraser 10 points in a remarkable team effort.
The game started with an up-tempo pace with both teams hitting jump shots, before Thomas put patrons at the Sports Hall on their feet with an up-and-under layup for a 10-9 lead with four minutes to play in first quarter, which eventually ended 18-16 for Colts.
Back-to-back lay-ups from Smith held Colts’ lead at 22-21 in the second period; down 24-25, Thomas drilled a three-point jumper midway through the period to continue to signal to Ravens that they will have to legitimately earn a place in the national final.
However, Kanhai showed up with his usual offensive prowess to give Ravens a 32-29 lead in the last minute before halftime. Thomas again set the near packed venue alit when he stepped behind the arc to land a big three-pointer that leveled the scores (32-32) at halftime.
But Ravens scored four unanswered points to start the third period strong, before Fraser finished a lay-up to again equalise. Then McSeen and Fraser went to work inside for Colts for a 6-0 run at the rim that gave the team a 40-36 lead before both teams exchanged points in a physical stretch that produced a 46-45 result for Colts and the end of third period.
Ravens again fired to start the last quarter when Stephney nailed a three-point jumper and Kanhai finished a lay-up for a 50-46 lead. However, Thomas responded with a big three-pointer that cut the lead. The game was on!
Colts remained in the game until the last half of the fourth quarter when Vincente drained a huge shot from downtown to give Ravens a 60-59 lead with four minutes to play. Ravens then seized the momentum for a run with Slater finishing a put-back and Vincente effectively tightening the noose around the necks of Colts with another three-point jumper.
Ravens produced a fast-break play with Kanhai finishing a one-handed dunk for a 10-point 69-59 lead with a minute to play in the game. Colts added four points in seven seconds within the final minute, but it was not enough to pull back Ravens.
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