Police b-ballers fight back late to beat All Stars

A late surge by Police in the fourth quarter gave them control and a  hard-fought 70-66 victory against Sangre Grande All Stars when the Eastern Communities Basketball League got set to enter the play-off stage on Saturday. Playing at the Maloney Indoor Sport Arena, All Stars went for the jugular from the tip-off and held a 27-23 lead at the half and looked comfortable going into the third quarter. They continued their strong attack through Noel Roshford (28 points) and Marlon Alexander (16). Roshford hit a match-high total but for Police, Ronald Martin’s 21 points and Sherwin Waldron with 14 proved to be the deciding factor in the match. They displayed patience and overtook the now fading All Stars in the last stanza of the match.

Defending First Division champions, Unit Trust Maloney Pacers stamped their authority on the league competition with an 85-56 demoralisation of Chaguanas Hackers through last season’s standouts —  Junior Harper with the match-high 21, Derek Boxhill (17) and Miguel Williams (16). Kendell Phillip with 14 was the only recorded scorer for Hackers. The Brian Chase Academy, defending women’s division champions made light work of STAFF in their 54-38 victory. Nekiesha Cropper and Affeisha Noel, who spearheaded their 2003 championship season had a match-high 23 points and 15 points respectively while Annette Rolston put in ten for STAFF.

Sunday’s Women’s Divsion match featured the Unit Trust Maloney Pacers, the only team from the club not to win a title in 2003, sending out a strong challenge to the Brian Chase Academy. The Pacers women subdued the Eastern Tigers and rollicked to a 82-26 win. Natasha Young scored a match-high 22 points and Carol Ann Granger returned a 15-point tally to the scorers. Ayanna Mack scored a paltry 12 for the hapless Tigers who are in their first season in the league.