Finals of the Elite 16 Knockout Basketball competition: Each team is confident of victory

The captains of the North Ruimveldt Ravens and the Victory Valley Royals are each confident that their team would dominate the proceedings in today’s Elite 16 Knockout Basketball final, which would be contested at the National Gymnasium.
The Victory Valley Royals, of Linden in Region 10, have demonstrated dogged determination in their journey to the finals. Their best showing has been against the Plaisance Guardians, whom they vanquished in a match by 35 points; but they have also recorded an 18-point victory against the University of Guyana Trojans and a 12-point victory against the Kwakwani Untouchables.
The North Ruimveldt Ravens have, however, defeated the Nets by 26 points; the McDoom/Prospect Kobras by 25 points, and the Stabroek Eagles by 3 points in their seemingly unstoppable journey to the finals.
Speaking to the media after the semifinal games had been played, Victory Valley Royals Captain Yannick Tappin declared that the team aims to retain the #1 spot, and detailed some improvements that have to be made if the team is to establish its supremacy over opposition.
”Great! For the longest while, we were the number one team, and we are coming to give it all to remain at that standard,” he said.

“One thing we want to do is rotate the ball more. Instead of a one-on-one play, we’ll try to transition better. The last time, I would say the team catch us off-guard in terms of fitness; but this time we’re ready” Tappin said.
North Ruimveldt Ravens Captain, Dominic Vincente, has predicted that confidence and cohesiveness among the team would cause it to come out victorious in this battle. Vincente said, “The confidence is there, but we can’t get complacent. Defensively, that’s something we were preaching together from the jump, and we sustained that so that we could get the victory tonight. We’re a family, and because we’re a family, all we had to do was get it together, so that we could come out victorious. We knew that we had it in us to mesh the way we wanted to, and because we got it together defensively, that’s how we came up with the win.”
The last time these teams took to the court competitively was in the Guyana Basketball Federation (GBF) National and International Tournament, when North Ruimveldt Ravens secured a two-point victory after the game was sent into overtime and they emerged with an 81-79 victory.
The team winning the final match is guaranteed a winner’s purse of $300,000, while the team finishing in second place would earn $100,000. the third-placed team would earn $50,000, and the tournament’s MVP would be awarded $25,000 for a standout performance.