The streaky St. John’s College basketball team participating in the Guyana Secondary Schools Basketball Association league (GSSBA) have now earned the respect of all the Georgetown teams after proving they are no pushovers.
As they have done before, they managed to upset one the tournament’s better teams ruining Queen’s College’s unbeaten record and shocking all with a 41-35 points win.
Queen’s College players might not have taken the contest against the seemingly weaker foe seriously as only half of their roster was present at game time. Nevertheless the few Q.C players present did not seem to be affected by the absence of some of their key players getting off to a very promising 12-2 start. However led by point guard Tariq Field Ridley St. John’s started narrowing the lead and ended the half trailing by only three points (18-21). St. John’s showed great determination as they snatched their first lead of the game (29-27) and never looked back. Denis Horatio, who is quickly becoming a multi-discipline athlete, registered a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds while his team-mate Keron Boyck had identical figures. Keith Tute chipped in with 10 points and nine rebounds. Earlier, Cummings Lodge enjoyed the taste of triumph when they defeated Bishop’s High School 40-37. Bishop’s High could not shoot their way back into this one as Cummings punished them early leading 18-6 at half time. Although, they fought bravely to eventually lessen their margin of defeat, the collective efforts of the offensively-gifted duo of Bevon Spooner and Colin Nurse who accounted for 75 percent of their team’s total points put paid to their efforts. Spooner finished with 16 points, three assists and two steals while Nurse added 13 points and five rebounds. Tesrick Rombissoon was the only effective offensive weapon for BHS finishing with 10 points while Seon Lashley added seven points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Meanwhile, St Rose’s High ensured that St. Stanislaus College had a sour second game as they thrashed the `Saints’ 33-9. Kadeem Jacobs managed to register another double-double, scoring 14 points to go with his 11 rebounds and four blocks. Jacobs was assisted by teammate Jermaine Luther who contributed eight points. School of the Nations defeated Business School 46-20 to remain undefeated in the private school division. Terrence Paton and Dane Clarke led all scorers registering 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists for the former and 10 points, four rebounds and two blocks for the latter. East Ruimveldt Secondary, Tutorial high and Business all gained walkovers while four other games were washed out due to high rains. GSSBA games continue this Friday at the Burnham Basketball Court.
