Ravens, Raiders on collision course again

Mar 01, 2015 Sports

-National Basketball Final on tonight

By Edison Jefford
Last year’s finalists, Dyna’s Ravens and Linden’s Retrieve Raiders were set on another collision

Guard, Ryan Stephney (airborne, with ball) evades Chris Williams’ defence for a right-handed lay-up Friday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.Guard, Ryan Stephney (airborne, with ball) evades Chris Williams’ defence for a right-handed lay-up Friday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

course after quarterfinal wins Friday night that launched them into last night’s semi-final against familiar foes in the National Basketball Championship: The Road to Mecca II at Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Defending champions Dyna’s Ravens defeated Linden’s Victory Valley Royals 76-65 with Ryan Stephney scoring a game high 19 points. Point guard, Dominic Vicente had 12 points while Ryan Gullen added 11 points and Akeem Kanhai 10 points.
For Royals, Orlan Glasgow had 18 points while Harold Adams netted 14 points, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Shooting guard, Chris Williams had a double-double with 14 points, and 13 rebounds while Lawrence DaCosta had 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Ravens played arch-rivals in Georgetown; Trinity Grid Holdings (TGH) Pacesetters in the semi-finals last night after Pacesetters overcame Plaisance Guardians 64-54 in another quarterfinal of the Championship.
Randy Richardson led all scorers with 21 points and seven rebounds with guard, Travis Burnette assisting with 13 points. Stephon Gillis and Royston Siland had seven and six points respectively for the number one ranked Georgetown club.
Forward Mark Richards scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Guardians as Nikkoloi Smith and Ron Campbell chipped in with 14 and eighth points. Colts United overhauled a 22-point deficit in the first half of their game to beat Pepsi Sonics 76-72, reaching the Final Four in the process.
Guards Shelroy Thomas and Dave Causway combined for 33 points as Thomas scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and completed six steals. Causway had 16 points while forward, Shane Webster had 12 points.
For Pepsi Sonics, guard Jason Squires had 15 points while Trevor Smith finished with 14 points. Forwards, Earl O’Neil and Kurt Elias had 12 points each with O’Neil grabbing 10 rebounds and Elias eight rebounds.
Colts played last year’s runners-up, Retrieve Raiders, who defeated fellow Linden side Kashif and Shanghai Kings 69-44. Neil Marks was the top scorer for the winners with 15 points while Keon Cameron contributed 10 points. Omally Sampson had 19 points for Kings.
The National Basketball Championship concludes tonight with the Grand Finale at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The tournament will be used as part of the selection process for the upcoming International Series against Bermuda, March 10-14.