Kings, VV Royals reach LABA U-21 final

Kashif and Shanghai Kings and Victory Valley Royals are through to the final of the Linden Amateur Basketball Association U-21 tournament following victories in the semi-finals Saturday at the Mackenzie Sports Club hardcourt.

In the first semi final Kashif and Shanghai Kings defeated Bulls 70-55 after trailing 27-33 at half time.

At the end of the third quarter the two teams were deadlocked on 55 points.

However,  the Bulls forwards were roped in by the King’s strong defence and were unable to score anymore baskets.

Sheldon Noel and Orrin Rose were the key scorers for Kings with 18 points each  while Jermaine Johnson and Quincy Easton supported with 13 and 12 points respectively.

Bulls’s Travis Blackman shot 16 points and Michael Turner added 15.

In the second encounter, Victory Valley Royals swept past Allenye’s Retrieve Raiders 75-42 to book their spot in the final. The Raiders were down 23-26 at halftime.

Chris Williams posted the game-high 19 points for the winners while  Marvin Russell, 17, Theodore Tappin, 13, and Ryan Cadogan 12 points supported well.

Raiders top scorers were Devon Gittens who posted 12 points  and Jeffery La Rose, Deval Wilson and Godfrey Larose who each added 10 points.

The final and third place playoff are set for this Saturday at the Mackenzie Sports Club hardcourt.