Point-guard Adrian Joseph led the charge with 20 points in an effort which helped Petro Jazz remain perfect after nine matches, following an 86-79 victory over Detour Shak Attack when competition in the Men's Division of the Mackeson Super 10 Basketball League continued at the Southern Indoor Sports Arena, at Pleasantville, San Fernando, on Saturday night.
Joseph's teammate, Ako Pascal, one of the most prolific scorers in the league, scored 11 of his 17-point total in the first session of play which closed with a 24-19 advantage for their team. In the second session, Shak Attack turned the tables with to outscore Jazz, 19-18, and to reduced the deficit by four points.
In the third quarter, it was Joseph's turn to display his scoring skills and he netted 11 points to maintain the lead for Jazz, 32-26. Then, in the final stanza, Shak Attack pushed Jazz's defence to the limit, outscoring the 2012 losing finalist, 15-12. It was not enough for Shak Attack, however, to avoid a third defeat in nine matches.
For Jazz, which remains unbeaten since the start of the campaign, Joseph and Pascal got support from centre Dextroy Manswell, who reached double figures for only the second time this season with 13 points.
Shak Attack, the 2009 champion, was led in attack by guard Kurt Christian, who scored 20 points. Centre teammate Ojomin Pryce made a 10-point contribution.
In another lively match-up on the night, forward Kirk Wattie and Luciano Cedeno scored 19 and 15 points, respectively, while Merdvin Modeste added 13 in a 87-81 win for Quarters United over the Ministry of Sport Schoolaz. The bottom-of-the-table clash opened the night's proceedings.
Schoolaz made a strong start to take a 26-18 first quarter advantage, but failed to keep Quarters at bay. The eventual winner was ahead 46-40 at half time.
Schoolaz, playing in spurts, once again outscored the San Fernando-based Quarters, 26-16 to regain the lead, 66-62, at the end of the third period, before dropping with a loss of energy and cohesion in the deciding quarter. In the end, Schoolaz came up short by six points after Quarters stormed to a 25-15 last gasp run.
The result confirmed Quarters' third win in nine matches, while Schoolaz rued its eighth defeat in 10 outings. Despite the loss, forward Randy Greenidge sealed a career-best 29 points. His teammates, captain Triston Benjamin and forward Kemrick Julien added 15 and 12 points, respectively. The league will continue in two weeks in all division. The league has also announced Defence Force's return, which will take effect after Carnival.
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