Maloney Pacers clinch DIAL basketball championship crown

MALONEY Pacers continued to distinguish themselves in the Destiny Invitational Arima League (DIAL) basketball competition when they defended their 2024 title with a tight win over UWI Lions in the 2025 championship division (under-23) final at the Princess Royal Basketball Court, Arima on April 19.

In a low-scoring encounter, Pacers showed their grit and resilience as they sealed a 63-60 victory. Pacers were led by a solid all-round showing from Hakeem Morgan, who put up a game-high 21 points, to go along with six boards, four assists and four steals.

Pacers led 29-22 at halftime, limiting UWI to just eight points in the first quarter. Pacers led 48-41 at the end of the third quarter as both teams scored 19 points in the period. UWI outscored the Pacers 19-15 in the final quarter, but the latter team held on to get the three-point win. Nathan Inniss led the UWI fight with 13 points, ten boards and four steals.

Meanwhile, fans were denied a potential game three spectacle in the premier division final on April 21, as the series decider was washed out. The new date for the game three clash which will crown the premier division champs will be held from 8 pm at the Princess Royal venue on April 27.

In game one of the premiership final on April 18, South Side Elite registered a narrow 86-81 win over New Chapter Academy (NCA) Warriors, with Tyrik Singh leading the way for the former team with a big double-double (23 points, 16 boards). National standout Ahkeel “Smally” Boyd drained 39 points for NCA Warriors in a losing game one effort. In game two on April 20, the teams had another tight encounter, with NCA Warriors knotting the series at 1-1 as they got an exciting 84-82 victory.

NCA Warriors led 38-37 at the half, but South Side put up 28 points in the third quarter to take a 65-63 lead into the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, NCA Warriors big man Miguel Williams (ten points, ten boards, three blocks) got timely stops down the stretch as his team limited South Side to 17 points in the period to get the nervy win.

Jason Friday had a game-high 27 points for South Side.

In the premier division’s third-place playoff, Police beat The Expendables 70-54 on the back of a strong performance from Fabrice Fisher (22 points, 15 boards) to claim bronze.