PRO Bowl final tonight

CL FINANCIAL San Juan Jabloteh and Vibe CT 105 W Connection will meet for the third time tonight in the Pro Bowl Final since the inauguration of the knock-out football tournament in 2004.

The two top local football teams prevailed above all the rest once and will battle it out in the season’s first knock-out final at the many Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.

Jabloteh are seeking to win the Pro Bowl title for the second straight year, after defeating Connection by a 1-0 margin in last year’s final.

Jabloteh’s path to the final started with a 2-0 win over Superstar Rangers in the quarter finals and then they had to deal with a determined Defence Force in the semi-finals.

After a hardfought 2-2 draw after regulation time-the “Boys from San Juan” prevailed 5-3 in the penalty shoot-out.

As for W Connection they trounced United Petrotrin 4-1 in the quarter-finals and in the final four, like Jabloteh, had to depend on a penalty shoot-out against Caledonia which they won 5-4 in sudden death to progress to the final.

Jabloteh believe they have an advantage going into the clash, after they beat W Connection 1-0 in a recent league encounter with Aurtis Whitley scoring the lone item.

However the difference this time around is that Jabloteh will be without their World Cup trio — Aurtis Whitley, Cyd Gray and Anthony Wolfe — and will be releasing young raw talent including Lester Peltier, Elton John and Akeil Guevara.

So the match will be on even footing since Connection, who will be making their 21st appearance in a cup final, are also going through a bit of a transition this season as Technical Director Stuart Charles Fervier has blooded a number of young local midfielders.

Both captains are expressing quiet confidence in the outcome.W Connection Skipper Earl Jean says the “Savonetta Boys” are ready-and he believes the match will come down to tactics, as the two teams know each other well.

“All our players are very keen on bringing the Pro Bowl back to Savonetta, we have been working very hard as a team we know Jabloteh and they know us-so it will all come down to tactics in the game on Friday night,” he said.

“We are confident in our ability and we want to prove that our youngsters we have can win titles as that will give us a great deal of confidence for the rest of the season,” said the St Lucian born Jean.

His opposite number, Jabloteh skipper Kerry Baptiste, believes the key to winning the Pro Bowl is defence.

“Defence win championships, offence just win matches and that will be the key for us. We are trying to stay calm and focused on the job at hand.

We are the champions and we will be going out there to defend our title with passion,” he said.

Preceeding the final, will the third place play-off between Neal and Massy Caledonia AIA Fire and Defence Force.

This promises to be an interesting encounter, because when the league resumes both teams are in mid-table and battling to stay in touch with the leaders.

Courts Pro Bowl

3rd Place Play-off

Caledonia AIA Fire vs Defence Force, 6 p.m.

Grand Final

San Juan Jabloteh vs W Connection,8.30 pm