Smith’s 44 points secure Guardians 3rd spot

GABA League of Champions…

Sattling for the third-place spot at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue, on Monday night, Nikkoli Smith produced a superb 44-point game to hand Plaisance Guardians the third-place position in the Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association’s League of Champions 2017.

With two divisions playing in the tournament, Monday night was dedicated to third-place playoffs with University of Guyana (UG) Trojans battling Eagles in the under-23 category and Plaisance Guardians taking on Pepsi Sonics in the senior division.

The under-23 match was the first to start off proceedings with lots of pride at stake for both teams, but at the end of the day, Trojans trounced Eagles 82-64.

In the first period, Eagles were immediately sent on the back-foot with their defence feeling the blunt of an aggravated UG side who netted 23 points as Eagles scraped only nine points.

The second period provided a better resistance from Eagles as the period belonged to them 18-15, however at the half-way buzzer, Eagles were still trailing 27-38.

In the third-quarter, Eagles found their form, registering a 21-point period, their best yet as UG gathered 16 points and the score stood at 48-54, with Eagles already hurting from their first-period deficit.

In the final period, it was mere running through the paces for Trojans, but they kept the intensity going to now score their best quarter, a 28-pointer that disposed of Eagles. Eagles, on the other hand, only secured 16 points in that period.

Most of the hard work came from Sherland Gillis who scored 19 points, while Kadeem Peterkin and Jabari Joseph both had 14 points apiece. It was a hard-fought effort from Eagles captain, Travis Belgrave, who carried majority of the burdens of the team with a 31-point game.

Meanwhile in the senior contest, 44 points from Nikkoli Smith secured a comfortable victory for Plaisance Guardians as they sunk Pepsi Sonics 95-62. Amongst Smith’s 44 points, he scored 11 three-pointers as his team secured third place. In the first-quarter, Guardians raced away to an eight point lead 17-9, but were reduced to seven as the score stood at 35-28 in favour of Guardians.

In the penultimate quarter, Guardians romped to a 25-point period, while Sonics had only scored 16, ultimately denting their chances. By the final buzzer, Guardians would have secured the best quarter of the night, a 35-point period that completely blew away Sonics who had only 18 points, as they lost by 33 points.

The action continues at the same venue with the fight on for the first place spot in the best out of three format final.