WALTER ALIBEY
Veteran forward Terrance Mayers drained five three-pointers for his tally of 16 points to spearhead Detour Shak Attack to an impressive 77-67 win over the Ministry of Sports Schoolaz as action in the National Basketball Championship continued at the Eastern Regional Indoor Sports Arena, Tacarigua on Tuesday night.
Behind the performance the Laventille-based team sailed to the top of the championship with nine points from five matches, that included four wins and one defeat. The 2010 National Tournament champions, had to come from behind from as early as the first quarter when the Schoolaz, led by a dynamic Dale Copeland, guided his men to a narrow 16-15 advantage. But Mayers and company came to life thereafter and over-turned the advantage at the half-way stage.
A usually consistent powerforward Andrew Ifill scored 19 points, while the trio of centre Jason Delisle, forward Andy Best and guard Kurt “Cotto” Christian each had eight pointsas Shak Attack maintained their lead 56-43 in the third quarter and 77-67 to win the game.
Apart from Copeland’s 21, the Schoolaz may feel disappointed by the result with team captain and guard Triston Benjamin battled for 11 points on the night and forward Kiev Chessney scored 10 along with Daniel Francis nine.
In another match, Siparia Ball Players got their first victory of the season, getting a by default win over Upstate. The match-up was suppose to be the second game of a double header at the Tacarigua venue, but Central team Upstate failed to show up for the match, handing the Siparia men maximum points without a ball being bounced.
On Wednesday last Quarters pulled off a close 65-63 victory over BTU Ballers at the Southern Regional Indoor Sports Arena in Pleasantville to move to second on the nine team standings. Kirk Wattie scoreds a game high 22 points as the Quarters led all sessions 20-9 in the first, 38-20, 56-44 and 65-63 at the end. The win was Quarter’s third in four matches as they moved to second points.
Kendell Dottin contributed 15 valuable points in their win with teammates Hayden Holder added 8, Kino Fleary 6 and Richard Julien 6. The Ballers were led by 17 points from Clint Phillips and 16 from Walter Peters. Trevon Leonsingh and Kevin Flemming also added 12 and seven respectively in their losing effort.
In another game the Petro Jazz got a hartdfought 80-74 victory over Ministry of Sports Schoolaz in the second match of a double header at the Pleasantville venue on Wednesday. Seasoned campaigners Kevin Sarjeant and Ako Pascal had the game of their lives to assure their team fifth position on the table after three games. Wednesday’s victory took their record to three wins in as many matches to date and a maximum of six points.
Sarjeant came up big on the night with 27 points while Pascal added 25 for more that half of their teams total. Teammates Michael Pantin battled to 12 and Louie Davis 6 in their win. Chessney was again the go to man for the Schoolaz with 24 points whiule Copeland downed 16 and Daniel Francis 15 in their defeat.
Results
(1) Siparia Ball Players (20) vs Upstate (0); Winners - Siparia Ballplayers by default
(2) MOS Schoolaz (67) vs Detour Shak Attack (77); Winners - Detour Shak Attack
First Quarter- 16- 15, 2nd Quarter 26-33, 3rd Quarter 43- 56, Final Score 67- 77
Topscorers (MOS Schoolaz); Dale Copeland 21, Triston Benjamin 11; Kiev Chessney 10, Daniel Francis 9
Topscorers (Detour Shak Attack); Andrew Ifill 19; Terrence Mayers 16 (5 @ 3- pointers), Kern George 9, Jason Delisle 8, Andy Best 8, Kurt Christian 8
(3) Quarters United (65) vs Ballers (63); Winners – Quarters United
First Quarter- 20- 9, 2nd Quarter 38- 20, 3rd Quarter 56- 44, Final Score 65- 63
Topscorers (Quarters); Kirk Wattie 22, Kendell Dottin 15, Hayden Holder 8, Kino Fleary 6, Richard Julien 6
Topscorers (BTU Ballers); Clint Phillip 17, Walter Peters 16, Tevon Leonsingh 12, Kevin Flemming 7
(4) Petro Jazz (80) vs MOS Schoolaz (74); Winners – Petro Jazz
First Quarter 17- 18, 2nd Quarter 33- 32, 3rd Quarter 62- 49, Final Score 80- 74
Topscorers (Petro Jazz); Kevin Sarjeant 27, Ako Pascal 25, Michael Pantin 12, Louie Davis 6
Topscorers(MOS Schoolaz); Kiev Chessney 24, Dale Copeland 16, Daniel Francis 15, Triston Benjamin 13
Standings
NBFTT Standings
Teams P W L Pts
1. Shak Attack 5 4 1 9
2. Quarters 4 3 1 7
3. MOS 5 2 3 7
4. Police 3 3 0 6
5. Petro Jazz 3 3 0 6
6. Valencia Heat 4 2 2 6
7. Siparia Ball Players 5 1 4 6
8. BTU Ballers 3 0 3 3
9. Upstate 4 0 4 3