Guyanese pair of Steve Neils Jr and Andrew Ifill led Royal Extra Lions to a 78-68 upset win over top contender Detour Shak Attack as play in the National Basketball Federation Club Championships "Big Eight" continued on Monday at St Paul Street Complex in Port-of-Spain.
Shooting guard Neils, bucketed a team-high 21 points in 29 minutes, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists. Ifill, a former Shak Attack player who joined Lions last season, had 20 points and six boards in the second match of the night. Royal Extra started well and at the end of the first quarter, held a 20-14 lead. While the second period was more competitive with the teams scoring 15 and 12 points respectively, Lions held on to a nine point advantage heading into the third quarter. Shak Attack, the 2009 North zone champion, came out after the break and outscored its opponents 29-22, closing the lead to 57-55 with 10 minutes remaining.
Lions, however, was able to re-establish itself and held off the rally by the Detour side to pull off a ten point win. Brian Zamore chipped in with 14 points and nine rebounds for the winner, while Shawn Lawerence had a game-high 22 and Kurt Christian 16 for Shak Attack. Lions, which lost its "Big Eight" opener to Defence Force, will be seeking two wins in a row tonight when it faces off with National Flour Mills (NFM) in the second match of a double header at St Paul Street Complex.
Williams robs Nets a win
Sports World Straker Nets have only itself to blame for a 71-70 defeat by Petro Jazz in the opening match. Nets had three attempts to win the game, however, two went off target and the last shot by Kern George was deflected by national player Miguel Williams, as Jazz held on for the win. South zone champion, Jazz, looked on course for a big victory, as it ended the first period with a ten point lead, 23-13. Nets, however, got into its own in the second quarter and cut the lead to seven as it outscored the Petro team 18-15. The fourth seeded North zone team continued from where it left off in the second and was able to take a slim one point lead 49-48 at the end of the third quarter. The battle continued in the fourth, but Jazz was able to squeeze into the lead with time running out.
Nets had possession in the final minute, however its sharp shooters could not buy a bucket as its first two attempts were off target, before Williams saved the day for Jazz, getting a touch on George's shot. Williams, who along with Ako Pascall had 19 points each, also grabbed 11 rebounds for the winner. National player Kern George led Nets with 16. Jeffery Harris had 14 and Mario Davis had ten. Nets will play Blue Waters Valencia Heat also tonight.
Results
?Monday's Big Eight Results
�2 Royal Extra Lions 78 (Steve Neils Jr 21 pts, Andrew Ifill 20 pts) vs Detour Shak Attack 68 (Shawn Lawrence 22 pts, Kurt Christian 16 pts)
�2 Petro Jazz 71 (Ako Pascall 19 pts, Miguel Williams 19 pts, Louie Davis 12 pts) vs Straker Nets 70 (Kern George 16 pts, Jeffery Harris 14 pts, Mario Davis 10 pts)
