Stories of Success (SOS) Basketball Academy, Caledonia Clippers, Defence Force and Police Service are on their way to the National Basketball Federation of T&T (NBFTT) National Invitational Championships (NIC) "Big Four" semifinals as the preliminary stages in the Men’s Division concluded on Sunday at the Maloney Indoor Sport Arena.
In the final round of the qualifying phase that jumped off on Saturday, the SOS contingent was gifted their fifth victory of the tournament by a default win as opponents Brian Chase Basketball Academy (BCA) was a no show on the night.
The proceeding match featured the Prison and Defence Force with the latter edging its adversaries by one point (80-79). The first half of play was a toss-up between the two services considering a maintained two-point difference at the end of the first and second quarter; 18-20 in favour of the army/coastguard combination unit and 41-39 in favour of Prisons, respectively.
Prisons came out firing in the third period under the guidance of guard Mikahail Williams who scored ten of his team’s 16 points to give his counterparts a 10-point cushion heading into the final quarter.
However, a collaborative 27-point contribution between Kerry Mc Millan, Kyeon Joseph, Jamille King and Brandon Charles gave the sailor/soldier unit the push needed to steal the win as regulation time diminished.
In Sunday's lone match, the Maloney Pacers needed to record a blowout victory over Police to clinch the fourth and final spot, and move onto the semi-final round of the NIC.
Even amidst the dependable scoring of Pacers’ pair Mohammed "Boy Boy" Elias and Kadeem Greig, it was indeed an elusive goal despite an additional surge by Jael Lewis who finished with 15 points. The law enforcers fell short by six points in the second period (40-34) giving Pacers some hope entering the third quarter.
However, the steady scoring of Police’s Fabrice Fisher (24) and Dextroy Manswell (21) cemented the police officer's fourth-place spot heading into the semifinals which starts tomorrow night.
RESULTS
Sunday
Police 83 (Fabrice Fisher 24, Dextroy Manswell 21, Don Wilkinson 11) vs Pacers 74 (Mohammed Elias 21, Jael Lewis 15, Kadeem Greig 14). Quarter scores: 1st. 23-18 (Police), 2nd. 40-34 (Pacers), 3rd. 60-56 (Police).
Saturday
Prisons 79 (Marvin Hayes 21, Mikahail Williams 13, Michael Jerome 11) vs Defence Force 80 (Kerry Mc Millan 18, Brandon Charles 13, Kyeon Joseph 13). Quarter scores: 1st. 20-18 (Defence Force), 2nd. 41-39 (Prisons), 3rd. 63-53 (Prisons).
Men’s Division
Place*Team*P*W*L*Pts+*Pts-*Diff*Pts
1*Stories*of*Success*6*5*1*489*432*57*11
2*Caledonia*Clippers*6*4*2*533*476*57*10
3*TT*Defence*Force*6*4*2*517*484*33*10
4*TT*Police*6*4*2*535*529*6*10
5*Maloney*Pacers*6*2*4*467*523*-56*8
6*TT*Prisons*6*1*5*468*477*-9*7
7*Brian*Chase*6*1*5*402*490*-98*7
Matches
Tomorrow's matches
Caledonia Clippers vs Defence Force, 6.30 pm
Stories of Success vs Police Service, 8.30 pm
Friday Match-up
Caledonia Clippers vs Defence Force, 6.30 pm
Stories of Success vs Police, 8.30 pm