Maloney Pacers, UWI to contest DIAL Championship division final

Reigning champs Maloney Pacers and UWI Lions will do battle in the Championship division final of the Destiny Invitational Arima League (DIAL) basketball tournament which tips off from 9 pm on April 19 at the Princess Royal Basketball Court in Arima.

The teams advanced to the final after getting wins over Matthew Pierre Academy (MPA) and New Chapter Academy (NCA) Love in Arima on April 12 in a pair of keenly contested matches.

In the first semi, UWI held a 42-32 lead at the halfway mark, and they opened up a 15-point lead at the end of the third quarter as MPA were held to just ten points in that period. UWI led 57-42 in that stage.

UWI were outscored in the final quarter, but they stood firm and got a 75-63 win. Rayquan Francis had a monster game for UWI with 19 points, 23 boards and six blocks.

In the other semifinal, Pacers got a narrow 98-94 win over NCA Love in a game that had contrasting halves. With the sharp shooting of Tyrese Fields who drained 33 points with five threes, Pacers jumped out to a huge 47-22 lead at the half. NCA Love showed signs of life in the third quarter as they outscored their opponents by four points in that quarter. Pacers took a 75-54 lead heading into the final quarter.

Utilising a persistent full-court press in the last quarter, NCA Love brought the game to within a possession as the Pacers were put under severe pressure. NCA Love outscored the Pacers 40-23 in the final quarter, but they weren’t able to complete what would have been an epic comeback. Holy Cross College standout Jervais Edwards-Caracciolo scored a game-high 34 points, to go along with five boards, four assists and five steals. Hakeem Morgan supported Fields in the Pacers’ offence as he tallied 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

On April 13, the two Premiership division semifinals were pushed to decisive game threes after South Side Elite and Police got contrasting game two wins.

In the first semi, Police got a hard-fought 71-69 win over NCA Warriors to keep their title hopes alive. Police trailed at the half as NCA Warriors jumped out to a 40-31 lead.

With an improved defensive performance, Police pulled to within a point as NCA Warriors took a 54-53 lead into the final quarter. Police completed the turnaround in the final quarter as their big man Dextroy Manswell (19 points, 12 boards) powered them to the two-point victory.

In the other semifinal, veteran Ako Pascal lit up the court with 32 points as South Side stormed to a 92-58 win over The Expendables to level their series at 1-1.

The final games in the Premiership semis will be played on April 16, starting with South Side’s game three matchup with The Expendables from 7.15 pm.

Game one of the Premiership final will be contested on April 18.