Eventful final night as `Battle for Supremacy' ends by Faizool Deo
Stabroek News
July 3, 2004

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In this Lawrence Fanfair photo, Sean Baird known for his dunking slams the mother of them all home.

The Guyana Basketball Federation's Independence Basketball Tournament `Battle for Supremacy' ended on Thursday night rather eventfully, with the games almost called off because of a locked Sports Hall and then an attempted walk out in the fourth quarter by an angry DC Jammers team.

The final night of the one -week competition involving the two visiting teams was expected to conclude with three games starting from 19:00hrs. This though, failed to happen since the Sports Hall gates were locked until 20:40hrs. As a result, only two games were played, Guyana A against Guyana B in a thirty-minute game and the President Select A team with four players from the B side against the visiting DC Jammers; the game left out was that of the under-19 team doing battle against the President Select B team.

In the first game, the A team won by four points 41-37 to win the series 2/1 while in the second game the A team won by ten points 88-78.

When Stabroek Sport arrived at the Sport Hall on Thursday night a number of persons were seen leaving, while pockets of persons were still in the compound itself.

One of the coordinators of the competition, Perry Woolford, informed Stabroek Sport that upon his arrival at 18:30 hrs he saw the gates locked and no explanation was given why the Sports Hall could not have been used. He lamented that a number of persons who saw the gates locked had left.

A short while after though the gate was opened an the final night was given a green light.

Yesterday Stabroek Sport contacted the Chairman of the National Sports Commission Laurie Lewis who stated that the gates were locked because initially a representive from the competition committee was reluctant to pay the money for the Sports Hall.

Lewis indicated that the representive wanted to give part of the money and not the entire sum at the time. This, though, was not agreed upon.

Without the knowledge of the executives of the National Sports Commission though the representive subsequently made the full payment.

With this not being known the executive of the NSC ordered the gates to be locked, it was only re-opened when the situation was clarified.

When the gates were opened though a sizable crowd did gather to view the two games.

In the first game of the female finals, Natasha Alder with 16 points,lead Guyana's A team to a four point victory over the B side.

Tied at 21 at the half, the A team were able to survive a flurry of three pointers to win 41-37, Noyota Peters finished with 10 points for the winners.

For the B team Nichola Jacobs had seven, while Timeki Joseph, Delina Mayes and Sonia Rodney had six points each.

The finals as it was called since the two teams the President Select A team and the DC Jammers had the highest points of the competition, was a keenly contested game with the A team including four players from the B team Terrence James, Neil Marks, Mark Trotz and Kester Gomes.

These players though even talented was over shadowed by the energitic Andrew Ifill. Playing at powerfoward, Ifill led all scorers for the game to finish with 21 points. From the opening tip off he exploded scoring nine of his points in the first quarter.