Latest update December 30th, 2024 2:15 AM
Latest News
- Guyana to pay back US EXIM Bank US$316.2M in interest on US$527M Gas-to-Energy loan
- Three shot, two stabbed as Linden gangs clash
- Israeli forces order new evacuation of besieged northern Gaza town
- Father killed, son hospitalised in Rupununi Bee attack
- ExxonMobil bullish about seizing remaining opportunities in Stabroek Block before license expires in 2027
LABA /104.3 FM Radio Mash Basketball final at MSC hard court tonight…
Bulls face challenge of Raiders for top spot, Royals battle Jets for third
Tonight’s epic tussle for the inaugural Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) organised 104.3 Power
Dwayne Roberts
FM Radio majority sponsored MASH Open basketball championship could be pulsating depending on the readiness for the Retrieve Raiders to stop the rampaging Half Mile Bulls when they clash, not only for another title but also the top seeding in Linden, ahead of the ‘Road To Mecca’ National Club Championship.
The Bulls already are listed as the number one ranked club in Linden, but with the championship about to bounce off next Friday, the Raiders are in a position to nudge ahead and entre the National Club Championship with the top seeding based on this final’s result. The Bulls enter with the top ranking but the LABA in 2012 implemented a points’ format where after each tournament the seeding may change based on the results, thus giving a better understanding of the ranking of cubs during the year.
So the games tonight, starting with the third place playoff between the Victory Valley Royals and Amelia’s Ward Jets at 9.00pm, are more than a 104.3 Power FM MASH final, but one that brings into question who has the top rankings also and the Bulls, however, must start as favourites against the Raiders.
They are on seven points having won the last Malta Supreme Open basketball championship after beating Raiders in that final and the Raiders had to settle for second place with five points. A win therefore by the Raiders should push them ahead of the Bulls but the final scores can also become a factor according to a source with LABA.
Therefore, it could be a ding-dong affair if Raiders led by their all-round power forward Dwayne ‘Brown Sugar ‘ Roberts and ably assisted by the likes of former shooting national forward Neil Marks and current
Travin Dryden
national playmaking guard Keon ‘Buktor’ Cameron and the busy-body off guard Alexander Rose. They will call upon the experienced former national back court duo of Abdulla Hamid and Marvin Hartman also to help them plot a way of beating this running Bulls side and Marks must realise that his efforts are key to any success the Raiders have of toppling Bulls tonight.
At the same time it has been no easy task keeping up with this Bulls side which have the back court players being called for national duties recently and have shown they can play great basketball. These players in shooting guard Terron Welch, the dangerous roving guard Michael Turner and the cool but collective guard Dennis Niles all on a upward curve after being outstanding junior national players who have graduated to the senior level.
Their inside game is hinged around another firmer junior national standout in power forward Travin ‘Babylon’ Dryden who in tandem with captain Kevin Easton were able to put a brake on Roberts’ scoring and brilliance in the last final where the Bulls ran out winners. At the same time Shane Lewis and others must shoulder the work in the paint where Roberts is the biggest threat. They know that the back court is very capable of delivering as they have proven in recent times.
The battle in the first game is also of interest where the third place game will determine the rankings below the number one and two clubs and the Jets having gifted that third place position to the Bulls after forfeiting their semifinal game against Raiders in the last tournament would want to correct that by beating the Royals and be the number three ranked side in Linden.
All in all it would be a night of truly gripping basketball with the winning prize going to the winner of the final and the large winner’s trophy.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Consent is not a veto
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- Bharrat Jagdeo, continues to muddle the discourse on the renegotiation of the Production... more
Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will
By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The year 2024 has underscored a grim reality: poverty continues to be an unyielding... more
Weekend Cartoon
