- Second round to resume this evening with double header

By Rawle Toney

Second round action in the Pioneer Construction-sponsored Linden Amateur Basketball Association (LABA) senior club championship is set to resume this evening at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.

Beverly McDonald, secretary of Victory Valley Royals Basketball Club is seen handing over the James Brusche Trophy to LABA president Uborn Smith in the presence of other officials of the association. From left assistant secretary Quincy Cummings, organizing secretary Abdulla Hamid and public relations officer Floyd Martindale.

In the opening game of the planned double header, Alleyene’s Retrieve Raiders will be aiming to better their first round performance when they face the Patriots, who also had a losing first round, at 6:30pm while the second game will see the Glands Trucking Service (GTS) Bulls bouncing off against the tournament’s joint leader, Wismar Pistons at 8:30pm.

The competition will continue tomorrow  with two more matches when the Amelia’s Ward Ballers take on the Raiders before  the match-up between  Amelia’s Ward Jets  and Victory Valley Royals.

On Sunday the Ballers will again be in action to play the GTS Bulls in the first game and then Patriots will play the Pistons in the second encounter.

At the end of the first round, Wismar Pistons and Amelia’s Ward Jets were atop the points table, with each team having 11 points while  Victory Valley Royals are in second position with 10, followed by Patriots  on nine points, Bulls with eight and Raiders and Ballers each having seven points.

Meanwhile, LABA secretary Joe Chapman said that his association is concerned about the late start to matches and so they will be seeking to make a prompt start at all the games.

“We will be starting sharply at the fixed time which is at 6:30pm nightly because we find that a lot of teams always turn up late and have the officials waiting on them to start. So this time around it will be different, we will be giving walkovers to teams who are late and we will be playing regardless of whether spectators are there or not,” said Chapman.

He also urged that the club coaches and representatives make sure that their teams are at the venue on time to avoid LABA having to issue walkovers.

Recently US-based former national captain James Brusche donated the winner’s trophy and medals to the LABA for championships. Also a trophy for the Most Valuable Player in the tournament was received by the LABA from former senior national female coach Linden Alphonso, who is also based in the US.

The trophies along with the medals and prizes for Alphonso’s former club, Victory Valley Royals, were received by Beverly McDonald for its 5th Annual Linden Schools Basketball Competition in April during Linden Town Week.