U-23s light up Sports Hall in GABA League

By Treiston Joseph

The Under-23 action in the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League over the weekend was exciting with some close encounters. The Eagles’ Under-23 squad pulled off a close 87-85 win against a resilient Plaisance Guardians side on Sunday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The game was fast-paced from the opening tip and it was Travis Belgrave who led his team to victory with 24 points in the match. Belgrave also had 15 rebounds in the win. Darrol Williams dropped 18 points, while Kwesi Thompson had 12 points and Linden Wilson 10 points in the win. Terrence Daniels was the highest scorer for the Guardians with 23 points.

The Bounty Colts under-23 team also pulled of a close 77-73 win against the Pacesetters. The game came down to free throws and while the Pacesetters, who trailed for the majority of the second half took a 72-70 lead with back-to-back threes from Tafaawa Daly, who ended with 25 points, the Colts tied the game with 45s left on the clock.

Pacesetters would give up nine free throws within the next 35 seconds with Jonathan Mangra hitting five straight free throws to ace the game.

Mangra ended with 24 points in the win, while Timothy Thompson had 15 points and 14 rebounds. Shelroy Thomas, who helped coached the team to the win and is also a part of the Division One Colts team, noted that the team showed great “maturity”, especially with the game on the line in the closing seconds.

Meanwhile, in Division One action on Sunday evening, Dyna’s Ravens topped Republic Bank Nets 48-46. Dominic Vincente dropped a game high 21 points in the win, while Ryan Stephney had 18 points and eight rebounds.

On Saturday, Dyna’s Ravens’ Under-23 squad topped the University of Guyana Trojans 62-51, while the Pepsi Sonics outplayed the Pacesetters 63-59. The League will continue on Wednesday evening with two matches at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.