In Wednesday night’s encounter at the Burnham Hard Court on Carmichael Street in the 2018 Rainforest Water/Malta Supreme/Georgetown Amateur Basketball Association (GABA) League, many were able to witness another Sonics tragedy as they bowed out to the UG Trojans 111-30.
Part of the ongoing action in the GABA League
In the Under-23 match, UG Trojans pummelled the out-of-form Pepsi Sonics as they became the first team in the tournament to pass 100 points.
The Trojan side looked poised and ready for action as they were hungry for more victories, but that could not be said about the Sonics as things haven’t been going their way this season. With a string of losses to their name, more woes continued to hit the Sonics, as they were without the services of two of their key players – one serving a one-game suspension and the other out with an injury.
As per norm, the Sonics played in a lacklustre manner, failing to convert opportunities into baskets and having one too many passes stolen from them. The Sonics were not able to take the lead in any of the quarters as all thanks to the efforts of Jabari Joseph, who had 24 points while Kadeem Peterkin and Damani Thomas had 19 points each.
Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, UG Trojans Coach Warren Wilson said, “I honestly wasn’t expecting Sonics to pose a threat, because two of their key players were out. But I saw it as a good opportunity for us to work on improving our defensive capability and tweaking our offensive sets. Our guys played well and it showed in the final score.”
Meanwhile, the Pacesetters, looking to get revenge on the Eagles from their last encounter, played their hearts out, but it was not enough to defeat the mighty Eagles as they lost the game by a mere point – 96-95. Pacesetters’ George Yearwood top scored with a massive 34 points, but no other member of the team could accumulate half of Yearwood’s hunting, thus placing all the pressure on him.
For, the Eagles even though they scraped a win, it was a team effort that pushed them forward. Captain Shamar Huntley led his side with 30 points, the ever-consistent Sherland Gillis and Nickcocie Allicock both contributed 21 points.
The action continues on Saturday at 18:30h with the Vikings and the Guardians in the first match and the Eagles clashing with the UG Trojans at 20:30h to wrap up the night. (Timothy Jaikarran)
