Over 3000 die-hard basketball fans turned up at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall Saturday night to see North Ruimveldt edge Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust 74-72 in game one of their best-in-three finals.
It was by far `the’ best game of the Hits and Jams Television (HJTV), Lens Craft sponsored Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) Inter-ward tournament with each team showing clearly how much they wanted to cash in on basketball’s biggest pay cheque of $500,000.
The crowd was on its feet in the final two minutes of the game as Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust made a dramatic comeback but came up short as the game clock expired.
Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust captain, Naylon Loncke, had brought his side to within two points (74-72) with a big three-pointer just under a minute in regulation but after then both sides failed to add to their tally.
Loncke would again be in the mix when he handed Royston Siland a one-handed pass, but the centre, known for his above the rim basketball, placed the ball too hard on the glass and the shot missed.
But the drama didn’t end there; as the game clock ticked away, Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust remained the aggressor and this time, Clement Brusche would have the opportunity to equalize but his shot rimmed out.
By this time the game clocked showed 1.20 seconds remaining and the ball ended up in the hands of Siland whose basket was waved off by Guyana’s lone FIBA accredited referee Sherwin Henry as the game clock had expired.
As spectators swarmed the court the North players went straight to their locker room.
A distraught looking Siland tried to get a word from Henry and his assistant referee Mike Prince but he was told that when his shot was released the game clock had already run out and it was immediately waved off.
The looks on the Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust players’ faces seemed to indicate that all was left was for tears to come to their eyes after an excellent, hard-fought game.
The two sides started the first quarter a bit slowly.
North Ruimveldt, who were controlling the pace of the game, led by six points (20-14) going into the second quarter.
Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust did an excellent job in keeping North’s star player Andrew Ifill off the ball as he was closely marked by Siland.
This allowed other players like Yusuf Edghill and Ryan Stephney, to step up and lead the offensive flow for North Ruimveldt.
Wortmanville/Werk-en-Rust, through good hustling, pulled their way back into the game and led 32-31 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, though, it was welcome
