Police is just one game away from lifting their first North Zone Basketball Commission title after defeating former zone champions Detour Shak Attack 84-74 on Thursday night in game-1 of the Big-Four finals at the Jean Pierre Sports complex.
To show that their league victory was no fluke, point-guard Adrian Joseph, a former stand-out player with Petro Jazz last season, scored 18 points, forward Fabrice Fisher, who was groomed by Valencia Heat for several years added 17. Police which defeated Defence Force 2-1 in their semi-finals series, led the first three quarters 27-16, 44-30 at the interval and then 62-49 at the conclusion of the third session of play.
For Shak Attack which must win tonight to keep their title hopes alive point-guard Orlando Mapp and forward Andy Best must better their 18 and 14 points production respectively, while shooting-guard Kurt “Cotto” Christain and power-forward Andrew Ifill need to get among the top players on the night.
Meanwhile, Defence Force can secure a creditable third place in the middle game of the triple-header when they clash in game-two with the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) from 6.30 pm. The new-look army/coastguard unit registered a 77-66 win also on Thursday night with forwards Stephen “Lighter” Lewis and Jonathan Donawa netting 14 and 12 points respectively.
For UTT which trailed 31-38 at half-time Jeffrey Harris continued in his prolific style with 26 points and Patrick Scipio supported with 17.