Police, Maloney Pacers top groups in Anomaly basketball

Police continued their impressive run in the Anomaly Basketball Tournament after defeating New Chapter Academy (NCA) Warriors 98-84 in a hard-fought battle at the Maloney Indoor Sporting Complex on September 28.

NCA struggled to find rhythm from beyond the arc while Police’s guards dominated the smaller NCA defenders in the post.

Police’s Mikahail Williams was the star of the night, posting a stellar 31 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists.

And despite a valiant effort from Ahkeem Boyd (19 points, ten rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block), NCA now face a must-win situation in this weekend’s matches to keep their hopes alive.

In other matches, Halcones de Guiria edged Guerreros De Dios 68-61 in their second round fixture. Both teams came out hungry after opening losses, with physical play and frequent fouls keeping points scarce.

After trading periods, Halcones put together a decisive fourth-quarter run to secure the win, with Wilmar Martinez leading the way with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Freddy Zorilla's double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds, wasn’t enough to lift Guerreros.

On September 29, Morvant Oilbirds claimed a nail-biting 63-62 victory over Caracas City in a tightly contested group one second-round game.

Caracas started strong, but Morvant surged back in the second quarter to take the lead by halftime. Despite a drop in intensity late in the game, the Oilbirds held off a fierce fourth-quarter comeback attempt from Caracas to secure their first win of the tournament.

Timothy Belgrave led Morvant with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Hakeem Morgan had a solid night on the court (13 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block), but his all-around effort wasn’t enough for Caracas.

In game two, Maloney Pacers secured an 86-70 victory over Caledonia Clippers.

After a fast-paced first quarter, Clippers struggled in the second, allowing Pacers to pull ahead. Despite a determined third-quarter response from the Clippers, they couldn’t close the gap in the final period.

Tyrik Singh led the charge for the Pacers with a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals). However, Orlando Mapp’s 20-point effort wasn’t enough to stop Caledonia from fading in the fourth quarter.

As things stand, Police and Maloney Pacers top group one and two respectively, having secured spots in the knockout round with two wins each. For the other teams, it's all to play for with a variety of results still offering the possibility of advancing to the final four.

Action for the final round of the group stage will now shift to the Eastern Regional Indoor Sport Arena, Tacarigua, on October 5 and 6.

Round Three Matches:

October 5: Maloney Pacers vs Caracas City (7pm); Caledonia Clippers vs Morvant Oilbirds (9pm)

October 6 - Guerreros De Dios vs Police (6.30pm); Halcones De Guiria vs New Chapter (8.30pm)