By Floyd Christie
The Georgetown/Linden rivalry continues when the top teams in the National Super Ward Basketball Championships square off against each other tomorrow evening.
In the last of the preliminary round match-ups before Sunday’s semi-finals of the Mackeson National Super Ward Basketball Championships, defending inter-ward champions North Ruimveldt meet Christianburg, while Albouystown/Charlestown will face off with Central Mackenzie in the feature match-up. The double-header will see the top two teams in Group A and Group B go head-to-head, with each team looking to hold on to its undefeated streak. For many basketball fans, these games represent the ‘clash of the titans’ and two exciting matches are expected.
So far, none of North Ruimveldt’s Group A opponents has been able to put the team under any real pressure. In its closest game, it defeated Kitty/Campbellville by 10 points. Including a barrage of national players, such as point guard Darcel Harris, shooting guard Ryan Stephney and power forward Ryan Gullen, North Ruimveldt’s squad is expected to turn in the aggressive game that has been its trademark throughout the tournament.
While most of North Ruimveldt’s attack comes from around the key, Christianburg has proved to be a dominant force on the inside and appears to be the stronger team in the paint. It will have in its arsenal experienced centre Nkossi Gorrick, and forward Quincy Jones, who scored a game high 23 points in his last outing. Christianburg will also have the talents of all-star guards Nevin Grenville and Trevor Profit.
Meanwhile, in the feature match-up, Linden’s other leading ward, Central Mackenzie will be led by Guyana’s most dominant point guard Steve Neils Jnr. Neils has averaged 20 points or more in Central Mackenzie’s past three games and Albouystown/Charlestown will be seeking to contain him. Also in Mackenzie’s line-up is national forward Marvin Hartman, the towering Jason Alonzo in the centre and young shooting sensation Orin Rose.
Albouystown/Charlestown should be familiar with Mackenzie’s arsenal, since it has three players out of Central Mackenzie in its line-up experienced national player Dwayne ‘Sugar’ Roberts, junior national captain Akeem ‘The Dream’ Kanhai and all-star guard Kevin ‘Two Feet’ Joseph-all of whom are leading scorers for the team. In addition, there will be all-star point guard Rodwell ‘Kobe’ Fortune, whose speed and agility at the top of the key led him to a game high 21 points against Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust.
The depth of Albouystown/Charlestown’s offensive line-up should also pose some problems for Central Mackenzie because many players on its bench can step up and put up big figures.
Tomorrow night, all four teams will be looking to come out on top of their respective groups and the question being asked is who will remain undefeated?
Jump ball time is 7pm at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
