Semi-final berths up for grabs tonight

Flashback-Scenes from the ESPN [red] and Genna in the final group round of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ West Demerara/East Bank Demerara championship at the Pouderoyen Tarmac
Flashback-Scenes from the ESPN [red] and Genna in the final group round of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ West Demerara/East Bank Demerara championship at the Pouderoyen Tarmac

With berths to the semi-final round up for grabs, the highly anticipated quarterfinals of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ West Demerara/East Bank Demerara championship, will kick-off today from 19:00hrs.

 The opening quarterfinal will pit group-C winner and undefeated side Jetty against group-A second place unit Up-Top-Bosses. In the second affair, undefeated group-D victor Bagotstown Warriors will take aim at group-B runner-up Brothers United.

The third fixture of the night will be a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal fixture when group-B winner and last year losing finalist ESPN lock horns with pool-D runner-up Ballers Empire.

The final quarterfinal match will pit three-time defending champion and zone-A winner Showstoppers against inaugural titleholder and pool-C runner-up West Side Ballers, in what promises to be a high scoring affair.

According to Travis ‘Zoti’ Bess, coordinator of the competition:“Every quarterfinal game should be gruelling where no inch will be given and no yard will be taken. Everyone will be looking to get the upper hand over their opponent to get into the semi-final. The first quarterfinal will be attack versus defence, whereby Up-Top-Bosses is a more offensive team and Jetty is a more organized defensive unit. The game should feature some of Guyana’s brightest stars in Delon Lanferman, Leo Lovell, Kevin Dundas and Amoniki Buntin, while Jetty has the services of former national goalkeeper Oswald Cornett,” Bess said.

The winner of the Brothers United versus Bagotstown Warriors was difficult to predict, said Bess.

“Next we have Brothers United against Bagotstown Warriors. Basically this is an open game which is hard to call but Brothers United have experience in Andrew Murray Jr., and siblings Adami and Gadi Hoyte while Bagotstown is a relatively unknown team. The acquisition of Shaka Jones for Bagotstown has provided a wealth of experience heading into the knockout round.

Bess did predict, though, that the ESPN versus Ballers Empire will be one of the better games of the night.

“This is one of the games of the night in ESPN versus Ballers Empire which is a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal that was won by ESPN. According to Ballers Empire, they are prepared for ESPN this year and all the challenges the pose. This is clash of styles in offense and defence and ESPN has been more threatening and consistent than everyone else in the event. ESPN is basically a mixture of past and present national players in Pernell Schultz, Trevon Lythcott, Dennis Edwards and Dwayne Lindie, while Ballers Empire possess emerging talents in Jamal Hamilton, Quincy DosSantos and Seon Alfred.

“The feature game of the night is a clash featuring former winner West Side Ballers against current champion Showstoppers. Since the inception of the event, the record is 1-1 in two meetings and this year is expected to be a very exciting one. Both teams are very offensive minded, and the team that plays the better defence will win. Showstoppers feature Marvin Josiah, Dexroy Adams, Trayon Bobb, Stephon Jupiter and Kayode King. On the other hand, West Side Ballers consist of Quessey Alleyne, Dwayne St. Kitts, Kevin Frank and Morgan Denny. Basically all four quarterfinals are expected to be exciting”, he added.