GABF – Road to Mecca IV…Pacesetters and Half Mile Bulls are latest winners; matches on tonight at CASH

Dec 08, 2017 Sports, https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...-on-tonight-at-cash/

Pacesetters Basketball Club (PBC) are now two wins from an equal amount of matches after defeating fellow Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) club Plaisance Guardians by 14 points, 78-64 in feature play when the Road to Mecca IV continued on Wednesday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
This competition which serves as Guyana’s National Club Championship and has over One Million dollars in prizes have seen three nights of intense rivalry thus far. Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) Half Mile Bulls blew out Rose Hall Jammers of Berbice Amateur Association (BABA) 83-51, to register their first victory.
Pacesetters were led by Stephan Gillis with 19 points inclusive of four three-pointers. Nathan Saul supported with a valuable 18 points while Sherlon Legal’s double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) was pivotal in balancing Pacesetters with defence.
Plaisance Guardians had a torrid performance during the first quarter of the game and they couldn’t bounce back after Pacesetters raced to a 12-point lead (20-8). In addition to the poor first quarter play, star player Nikolai Smith wasn’t part of the East Coast team’s lineup.
As Gillis sunk four three-pointers, Saul demonstrated great dribbling while doing his defensive work with a game high four steals, as Legal and Jermaine Hamilton both grabbed a game high, 11-rebounds apiece.
Pacesetters Coach, Clement Brusch, exclaimed that although his team has a perfect record there is still room for improvement in some areas. “We’re happy with the win, I see it as one step closer to the National championship title, and we will continue to work and improve as we move forward”, explained Brusch who won Mecca II in 2015, his first year as Pacesetters Coach.
In the night’s opener, Half Mile Bulls bounced back from their 39-point loss against defending champions Bounty Colts, to inflict similar pain on Rose hall Jammers with a 32-point blowout, their first win in two games.
Meanwhile, Jammers the lone Berbice club in the competition didn’t only lose 83-51 on Wednesday, they lost momentum as well after defeating Dyna’s Ravens of GABA 64-60 in their opening match which was the first game of the tournament.
Bulls’ Michael Turner netted a game high 31 points in his double-double that consisted of 10 rebounds while teammate Terron Welch scored 20-points to help them down Jammers.
The action continues tonight at the same venue with two more matches featuring defending champions Bounty Colts (GABA) against Amelia Ward Jets (LABA) in the first match from 19:00hrs.
Tonight’s main attraction that tips off at 21:00hrs will see fans who will enter the venue free of cost witnessing an LABA showdown between Retrieve Raiders and Victory Valley Royals. (Calvin Chapman)