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LABA Malta Supreme Christmas Basketball semifinals fixed for tonight
Unpredictable clashes as unbeaten Raiders face Jets, Bulls oppose Royals
It will be hard to predict tonight’s outcome as the semifinals of this year’s Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) organized Malta Supreme Christmas Open basketball championship semifinals are played at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.
With an unblemished record, Retrieve Raiders will put their perfect run at risk when they face the bigger Amelia’s Ward Jets in the first game and the Half Mile Bulls, having been ranked second after the preliminary round, will want to repeat by beating the Victory Valley Royals and advance to the final.
But lots of questions are going to be asked. Can the Raiders maintain that unbeaten streak with another win against the Jets who they beat 49-46 earlier? That will depend on which Raiders side show up. The Raiders are going to include overseas-based power forward Louis Webster in their starting lineup. He was an immediate plus as he joined with former national power forward Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar‘ Roberts, to add punch to the front court game of the Raiders with captain Neil Marks who will bring a bundle of experience to this talented Raiders team.
National guard Keon Cameron should learn from the fellow backcourt and former national guard Marvin Hartman on how to control the play and once Abdulla Hamid can maintain his effectiveness as the man on the sidelines calling play, then Raiders should prevail. Alexander Rose’s rise and youngsters Duel Garner and Dauwin Lovell should also have a part to play for the Raiders.
However, their rivals the Jets bring a totally different proposition to this encounter. Their inside game is second to none once Websters can get their way inside. Allister, Adrian and Joel all have what it takes for the Jets to play the half-court offence game but their shooting national guard Orrin Rose can turn things around in a jiffy, with his outside bombs also, while leaper Parris Cadogan will be asked to get the offence going. That game is a topsy-turvy affair indeed.
The second game is between the number two rated Half Mile Bulls who only went down to Raiders but topped the third ranked Royals 57-52 even though that game was not an easy one for them. The Bulls best chance rest with their current national players in back-court trio Terron Welch, Dennis Niles and Michael Turner. They bring separate dimensions to this side as Welch can connect from beyond the arc with frequency and Niles is both dangerous inside and from mid-range, while Turner will slash across to get points in the paint.
The additional play of Keifer Tappin will extend the quality of back court players for the Bulls. With the experienced Shane Lewis battling inside and Kelvin Easton being dangerous from outside are important cogs in this Bulls side and once they can acquire the services of Travin Dryden they can come out victorious again against the Royals. But the Royals are brimming with confidence that their best player, national small forward Harold Adams can now look to power forward Lawrence ‘Bolo’ DaCosta for the kind of pounding inside that was lacking in the Royals camp.
The Royals guard duties will rest on the former junior national Marlon Pollydore and the competent Alwyn Rodney, while much will be expected from Dwight Cooper in the paint. The Bulls will come running but the Royals should ensure that the game is played to their tempo and not get carried away trying to match their opponents and employ a half-court game and pick their plays according to the situation.
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