Mackeson Mecca III Super Eight set

Mar 08, 2016 Sports

-Royals, Pacesetters, Ravens advance

By Edison Jefford
Linden’s Victory Valley Royals scraped past Berbice’s Rockers, while Pacesetters and Ravens had big wins Sunday night at Cliff Anderson’s Sports Hall to end the first round of the National Basketball Championships:

Pacesetters national forward, Randy Richardson splits the defence in the paint for a classic finger roll Sunday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Mackeson’s Road to Mecca III.
Royals edged Rockers 72-68 in the first of a triple-header with forward, Trevor Profitt scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds with five assists; forward Ron Beckles had a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists; Harold Adams had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Michael Bowen delivered a real scare for favorites, Royals when he landed four straight jumpers from beyond the arc, including one that put Rockers up 68-65 with just over a minute left to play in the final quarter of the game.
Bowen finished with a triple-double 17 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists while junior national forward, Neil Wills had 14 points and eight rebounds. Denson Fraser scored 12 points along with six rebounds and 10 assists.
The first game proved more competitive than expected. The other two games were routs, despite Eagles threatening Pacesetters for three quarters. Pacesetters eventually pulled away 86-69 to put its name in the bag containing Guyana’s top eight clubs.
Junior national point guard, Nathan Saul on his Division I debut for Pacesetters scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished five assists. National senior guard, Travis Burnett scored 12 points and dished nine assists, while Randy Richardson had a double-double 11 points, 15 boards and six assists. Joslyn Crawford had 10 points and six rebounds.
For Eagles junior national standouts, Travis Belgrave and Kevin Higgins carried the team, which suggested a changing of the guard, with the promotion of lots of Under-23 players. Belgrave had a double-double 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Kevin Higgins scored 14 points, and retrieved 13 rebounds. Mark Wills had 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
The feature game was a stroll for Ravens that won 83-52 against Falcons. Lawrence Simon made a jumper to haul within one, 19-20 with six minutes to play before halftime, but Ravens responded strong with Darcel Harris rolling back many years to find Jermaine Slater and Tyrone Hamid inside for easy points.
Ravens swiftly went up 28-19, ending the period on a 22-7 run for a 42-26 lead. The game was basically over as Ravens continued to play open court basketball in an up-tempo offence, which was very impressive from the 2014 National Champions.
Guard, Dominic Vincente scored 19 points while Ryan Gullen had 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Ryan Stephney had a double-double 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists while the high-flying Hamid scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
Lawrence Simon also rolled back some years to lead his team. The Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) President scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Dale Sauers scored 11 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists. Akeel Primo had 11 points and 15 rebounds.
The National Basketball Championships: Mackeson Road to Mecca III continues on Friday and Saturday with the Super Eight and Sunday with the Final Four at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall before the Finals on March 19 at the same venue.