Road to Mecca tips off with high speed action

By Treiston Joseph 

Top teams got off to expected starts on opening night of the Road to Mecca National Club Championship at the weekend at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. Defending champions, Bounty Colts got their title defence off to a positive start with a 99-50 blowout win over Half Miles Bulls of Linden.

Shane Webster tormented the defence of the Bulls with 24 points, while Domain Gladstone dropped 19 points in the win. Shelroy Thomas also chipped in with 12. Teron Welch dropped a team-high 18 points in the loss for the Linden-based side.

Last year’s runners-up Victory Valley Royals of Linden topped Republic Bank Nets 78-61. Lawrence DaCosta and Daniel Lee took apart the defence of the Nets with DaCosta scoring 17 points and Lee 15 in comfortable win.

Juan Johnson’s game-leading 20 points would prove futile. Eagles looked good against the Kobras with a 63-51 win to get their first win in their debut game after surviving a playoff round to enter the tournament.

Travis Belgrave dropped a game-high 28 points to lead the Eagles, while Mark Richards had a team-high 12 points. The final game of the night saw the Ravens topping the Guardians 65-57.

Domain Lewis had 19 points, while Ryan Stephney dropped 14 points to help guide the Ravens, who finished in the top four of last year’s Road to Mecca. The tournament will continue on Wednesday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.