Laventille favourite to advance after Grande win

Title favourite Laventille went within one win away from a spot in the quarterfinal of the Hoop of Life Community Basketball League knockout competition, after dumping Sangre Grande 75-49 in a commanding performance at St Barb’s Basketball Court, Laventille, on Saturday night.

Laventille, which was on a first round bye, jumped out a 23-7 lead and continued to keep its opposition at bay. The home team mixed tactics on the offence and three-point shooting from point-guard Orlando Mapp to distance itself from Sangre Grande early on.

Mapp converted three of his four three-point attempts in the first half, which Laventille closed with a less-than-marginal 46-25 advantage.

Laventille maintained a similar gap by the end of the third quarter (61-39), at which point the match was interrupted for 25 minutes caused by a drizzle. 

On the resumption, both teams played with caution because of a wet court and Laventille outscored Sangre Grande 14-10 to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Laventille which will now make the journey to Sangre Grande tonight (Monday) for the return leg need a victory that will see them advanced to the ‘Elite Eight’ of the competition.

Mapp ended with 17 points, centre Ashton De Murrell dropped in 16 and national forward Steven “Lighter” Lewis supported with ten.

For Sangre Grande, which must win by 26 points if the team is to advance to the quarterfinal stage, only Glendon Phillip reached double figures with 15 points.

Over in Tobago, after rain prevented play on Saturday night, the match was rescheduled for yesterday morning and the visitor, Cocorite defeated Moriah 63-55.

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