G/town invades Linden for biggest basketball rivalry tonight

Apr 05, 2014 Sports

– “Mecca to Mackenzie” features Guyana’s six top clubs

Georgetown’s six top clubs, Trinity Grid Holdings Pacesetters, Colts and Dyna’s Ravens will all travel to Linden tonight for what can become the biggest basketball rivalry to ever hit Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) Court in Linden.

Akeem Kanhai

The first game begins at 7pm with Pacesetters, ranked number one according to the Georgetown League, taking on Linden’s number one ranked Kings. Then a rematch of the national third place game will follow at 8:30pm before the feature showdown.
The last game features National Champions, Dyna’s Ravens against runner-ups, Retrieve Raiders in a rematch of the national title game. Georgetown moves out of its comfort zone for what is the ultimate test of character at the Linden venue.
Neil Marks and Louis James will have to step up big against Ravens with support from forward, Dwight McKinnon and guard, Keon Cameron. The quartet with support from their bench will be on familiar territory with support from their Retrieve community.
Ravens’ recent swag has been devastating for teams; the consistency that started with shooting guard, Dominic Vincente, who has landed big shots for them throughout an excellent season of manning their backcourt. Ryan Stephney has also been very consistent in the backcourt for his team.
Ravens’ advantage tonight is in the guard to small forward positions where players like Akeem Kanhai, Ryan Gullen and Rodwell Fortune are definite threats. They may seem overwhelming to Raiders’ Cameron alone, which again brings into focus Raiders’ bench.
But the balance in tonight’s final is simple: what Raiders lose in the backcourt with insufficient ball-handlers, they make up in the frontcourt with Marks and James. It is vice versa for Ravens with the strongest backcourt and weaker frontcourt.
In the earlier games, Pacesetters’ rebuilding will continue with guard Travis Burnett leading the team to Linden for what will be a breathtaking display of offensive ability. He will be supported by Royston Siland and ‘Lindener’, Jermaine Hamilton.
Keith ‘Bull’ Tute and Hugh Arthur will all be going to take the throne away from Kings in the first game tonight. But it will not be an easy task with Abdulla Hamid and the old vanguard still as sturdy as fresh legs.

Shelroy Thomas

Kings will look to send a strong message that it could be Linden’s night with Marvin Hartman, shooting guard, Orin Rose and point guard, Steve Neils providing the impetus. Forward, Trevor Profitt is also a part of the Linden’s Kings outfit for tonight.
The night of quality basketball continues with Georgetown’s second ranked Colts taking on the Amelia’s Ward Jets in what will be another tense encounter. Jets will have to find a way to get pass Colts’ guards, Shelroy Thomas, Dave Causway and Nikkoloi Smith.
The three are as quality a backcourt as exist in Guyana and that will certainly be displayed when the games are blown tonight. Jets Webster clan, including Shane Webster, will have to muscle their way to revenge. Rodwell Pellew and Kevin Joseph will offer support to the big men of Jets against the formidable Georgetown opposition.