On Friday, 13th, the R.C. Bullets defeated the Lily Valley Sharks by the final score of 80-76 pts. Coming off an 11 pt., game 1 loss, the bullets came into this game full of confidence, to level the series and force a game 3 on Sunday. But, again, without star player and certainly a crowd favourite, Garth Joseph, the bullets, like game 1, would find this extremely difficult without him.
In the opening half, the sharks, firing on all cylinders, dominated, in every aspect of the game and with excellent crowd support , they looked to close off the series in a flash. They led all through the opening half, and closed with an 8 pt. lead to their name. The 3rd quarter possessed the same quality of basketball from the opening 2, from the sharks.
They were certainly on point. Though they were playing excellent ball, the lead was cut to 4 pts., at the end of the quarter. And, like the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. At the start of the 4th quarter, to the end of the match, the name of the game had changed. It was no longer to be called basketball, but Bernard Mills. It was all about him, and nothing, or no one else. He was completely unstoppable. Without his star big man, he carried his team like a donkey. He was what you would call, “a real work horse”. The cheers and jeers from the sharks fans, had now turned to, “hold Mills, hold Mills, hold Mills”. He frustrated them like a tooth ache. His team had scored 28 pts in the final quarter, and guess what, he had 24. Certainly one of Dominica’s best back court maestros, if not, the best, and certainly, a joy to watch as well as learn from. The series is now tied at 1 game a piece, with the deciding game on Sunday.
Top performers for sharks – Clinton “Boogie” Charles – 21 pts, 4 asts
– Craig St. Rose – 19 pts, 7 reb, 8 asts
– Ray Charles – 19 pts, 2 asts, 2 reb
Top performers for bullets – Bernard Mills – 52 pts, 6 asts, 4 stsls
– Ronald “Bing” Charles – 14 pts, 10 reb
– John Joseph – 8 pts, 1 ast
On Saturday, 14th, the Fond Canie Rebels defeated the Laudat Spartans by the final score of 93-71 pts. After the game 2, O.T. loss, the rebels definitely proved a point with this 22pt blow out, of the Spartans, which was very harsh on them, as they are much better than this, on their good nights.
With game 1 behind both teams, which ended in a lot of fracas, and controversy, this game was rather cool and composed, with the only noise coming from the excellent crowd support for the teams, inside the basketball arena, and not the players towards others, or the officials. In the opening 2 quarters, baskets were being traded on both ends of the floor, with numerous lead changes and ties. You could see that neither team wanted to lose. The rebels, though, still held the minimal advantage, as they never trailed, and lead after the 1st and 2nd quarters, by 2 and 5 points respectively.
The game was well-balanced at this point, with the star players on both teams, playing their part, as usual. But, it’s funny how things can suddenly change. The final 2 quarters were completely different from the opening 2. There was no more balance in the game, & all the momentum was switched to the side of the rebels. They held the Spartans to only 14 and 16 pts, in the 3rd and 4th quarters, while they dominated, both offensively and defensively, and scored 46 pts, in the final half. After this win of 22 pts, the rebels won the series 2-1 and move on to the semi-finals, and will certainly be a gigantic force to be reckoned with. Sad to see the Spartans bow out of the competition, as they had played impressive basketball, with twin brothers, Jamal & Jervon Serrant, at the helm.
Top performers for rebels – Joel Mc’Intyre – 29 pts, 9 asts, 2 reb
– Peter Ricketts – 17 pts, 6 reb
– Ronald Brino – 12 pts, 9 reb, 4 asts
Top performers for spartans – Jamal Serrant – 29 pts, 5 reb, 5 asts
– Jervon Serrant – 25 pts, 8 reb, 8 asts
– Kurt Rolle – 7 pts, 3 reb
– Shaun Reid – 6 pts, 12 reb
On Sunday. 15th, the Lily Valley Sharks defeated the R.C Bullets by the final score of 85-78 pts. On a cold Sunday night, in the heart of basketball city, Trafalgar, the basketball arena was jam-packed with supporters, for this game 3 show down, between two of the most recognised names in previous basketball leagues held in the glory days, about 10 years ago, before this one. Both teams were not at full strength for this game, but nevertheless, basketball would be played. The game opened, with the same format as game 1 and 2, with the sharks dominating possession, and getting the early lead. But as the game progresses, they got complacent, and never look in a confident mode in finishing the game.
The sharks lead from 1st -4th quarter, but this really was an up & down game. They lead by as much as 15 pts, on occasions, but would let that slip away, and lead only by 2, at times. The bullets as well, were not on point in this game. When in positions to get the game in their grasp, and dominate, they never took it. Again, on the back of Bernard Mills, coming of his 52 point game, he worked extremely hard, but it was very difficult. At times, he had 4 players guarding him at once. He got great support from Ian Brumant, but it was not enough.
The game came down to the final three minutes, when the sharks had 2 key players fouled out, Lester Denis, and Craig St. Rose, who was on 4 fouls, missed a dunk, and hung on the rim, and received a technical foul to put him out. The bullets were down only 5 pts, and looked to steal the game, but 3 back, to back, to back 3 pointers, from Randy De-Jean put the sharks in firm control and closed off the game. This sent the arena into a frenzy, as sharks were crowd favorites from day one of the league. The sharks move on to the semi-finals, after winning the series 2-1, but may find it difficult, as they have not been convincing through out.
Top performers for sharks – Craig St. Rose – 30 pts, 7 reb, 6 asts
– Matthias “Bagalaw” Douglas – 15 pts, 7 reb
– Clinton “Boogie” Charles – 14 pts, 2 asts
– Ray Charles – 10 pts, 4 reb
Top performers for bullets – Bernard Mills – 31 pts, 9 asts
– Ian Brumant – 21 pts, 5 reb, 3 asts
– Ronald “Bing” Charles – 9 pts, 7 reb
Semi final round – Game 1’s – Wednesday 18th – 7;30 p.m. – Upper Village Hoosiers vs. Fond Canie Rebels
– Thursday 19th – 7:30 p.m. – Elvis Welding Services Road Stars vs. Lily Valley Sharks
good to see basket ball making a comeback
WEHHHHHHHHHHHH MILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!! HOLD DEM YOU THINK YOU IS ME EH ONE TING.