Colts top Guardians to take GABA League title

By Treiston Joseph

Colts held off a late surge by Plaisance Guardians to win 93-86 and capture the first division title of the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League on Wednesday evening at the Burnham Hard Court.

The win also means that Colts became the first team to sweep all three titles (Under-23, Second Division and First Division) in one year for Georgetown.

After a close first half that ended 50-42 in favour of the Plaisance, the eventual champs held Plaisance to just seven third quarter points while scoring 31 in the period to head into the fourth quarter with a 16-point lead.

Nikkoloi Smith’s brilliance in the fourth started Plaisance on a quick 6-0 run to cut the lead to 10 before the teams started trading three’s in an exciting exchange from beyond the arc.

Even though Plaisance would outscore the Colts 29-20 in the final period with the lead cutting to just three with 1:20s left in the game, start guards Shelroy Thomas and Dave Causway would hit four straight free throws to ice the game for the Colts.

Thomas ended with 29 points for the Colts, while Dave Causway and Stanton Rose chipped in with 17 and 14 points respectively. Shane Webster also had 10 points in the post.

Scoring for the Guardians came from Smith with 26 points, while Marlon Chesney and Malcolm Powdar chipped in with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Coach of the Colts Willon Cameron was pleased with the win, noting that the team played well under pressure and played tough man-to-man defence to pull off the win.