2018 Caribbean Basketball Confederation champions Guyana took an early lead in the three-match Goodwill Series against Grenada, comfortably winning the opening game on Friday night at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
The host nation emerged with a 90-73 success to put themselves in a good position to close out the series when game two is contested this evening at the same venue.
Led a game-high 39 points from Ray Victor, Guyana maintained superiority over the visitors in every quarter, leading 22-16, 53-36, 68-57 and eventually 90-73.
Victor received solid support from Terron Welch and Travis Belgrave, who scored 19 and 18 points respectively.
For Grenada, the top points men were James Andrew with 17 and Jonathon Williams 15.
Coach of the Guyana unit, Junior Hercules, believes the scoreline was not a true reflection of how competitive the game was.
He noted that the Grenadians were “exceptional at the line, missing just two free throws in the entire game; (and) they were sharp from the three-point line.”
“In the end, we were more consistent over a longer period- that is responsible for us having the victory. We didn’t have an all-round good performance; I felt like some of the players we expected more of had some issues with nerves and so forth. But I think both Grenada and Guyana are going to make some adjustments tonight and I’m hopeful some of the offensive players that we expect more of, they are coming a bit more relaxed tonight in terms of their temperament and that nerves and we will have a better all-round game as a team.”
Hercules touched on the performance of Victor, who led from the front.
“He was outstanding, he was consistent, his leadership was one in which we definitely benefitted from, as well as the likes of Travis Belgrave’s, who was solid in the first half.”
President of the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation, Michael Singh, is confident Guyana can close out the series tonight.
“I think our guys are much quicker,” Singh observed. “And we’re utilising that speed, and when we get into the open court they actually can’t keep up with us and they have limited ball handlers. We’re going to stick to the game plan; a lot of our youngsters didn’t play well, but I see a more balanced attack tonight, I see a lot more energy and I know Guyana will close it out tonight.”
Game two tonight will tip off at 20:00h.
