A dominant 30-point performance from Guyana Defence Force (GDF) power forward Phillip Earle helped his team overcome Nets 75-70 in the third division category of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Associations’ (GABA) Super League last night at the Burnham Court.
Earle was instrumental in the GDF’s inspiring second half comeback after they trailed by 12 points (17-29) at the end of the first quarter and nine at halftime (46-37). Earle brandished an ensemble of post moves against the smaller Nets line-up. Even though Earle is no six-footer, his speed, strength and efficient mid-range jumpers enabled him to breakdown the Nets low post defence.
GDF’s guard Jason Khan also connected early with 12 points while Mark Rose, who switched on later in the second half, helped his team to victory in a huge way with 15 points. The GDF determined defence coupled with careless passes by Nets formed the plot during the final minutes of the third quarter.
Nets’ forward Kester Mayer and Wayne Lashley, who scored 15 and 12 points respectively, helped Nets reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter.
Nets’ guard Mortimer Robertson also added 14 points to his team’s losing total but the Nets struggled to hold onto that lead especially when the ejection of their coach broke their momentum. Nets’ coach and first division player Mortimer Williams was ejected for having too many players (six) on the court. This was his second infraction of this type as he was also whistled earlier in the night for having four instead of five players on the court at a time.
Down the stretch, GDF strategically inserted the third division tallest player, Collis Mendonca into the game who had two blocks in the fourth quarter alone. Mendonca’s mere presence in the low post appeared to be a deterrent for the Nets. Nets stumbled to 0-2, while GDF progressed to 1-1 after losing their first game to the TGH Pacesetters.
Up to press time, in the final game of the night, a domineering effort from Ravens saw then leading the Knights by 41 points, 72-31, close to the end of the third quarter. Ravens executed their offense impeccably during the first quarter to establish an early lead after capitalising on all the flaws of Knights such as not getting back in transition and over playing forwards in the post.
