By Treiston Joseph
The University of Guyana (UG) held off Plaisance Academy 21-18 to win the 2013 Youth Basketball Guyana (YBG) Challenge Series on Sunday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
UG played well defensively, with a 2-3 zone defence that seemed impenetrable. Plaisance missed most of their shots in the paint, but UG’s defence was most impressive as they held prolific guard Nikkoloi Smith under double digits with a score of three points which was a first for the guard.
Further, on the offensive end UG were more sys¬tematic, swinging the ball from the left to the right wing searching for the best options to score. They also played the inside-out game, going to Most Valuable Player (MVP) Geoffrey LaRose in the post.
UG started hot, scoring six straight points at the rim in the first half before allowing Plaisance to come back and end the 10 minute five-a-side affair 10-9.
Cranking up their de¬fence in the second half, the UG players held Smith scoreless while finding their way in the paint and out-rebounding the smaller Plaisance team.
LaRose had an all-round game for the University, scoring 10 points and taking three rebounds short of a double-double (seven boards). Kevin Dey also contributed seven rebounds to help UG lead Plaisance in the rebounding department.
Nduka Horatio was the point man for Plaisance with 10 points while Smith had seven rebounds and three steals along with his three points in the game.
In the under-16 category Mae’s School pulled off an upset over Kwakwani, defeating them in a hard fought encounter 14-12.
Kwakwani shot them¬selves in the foot, missing most of their attempts from downtown. Mae’s capitalised and went to work on the inside with their bigger and burlier bodies that knotted the game in the half time at seven points.
In the second half Kwakwani continued to stubbornly shoot from be¬yond the arc while Mae’s took the lead after the first four minutes. Eventually, Kwakwani started attacking the paint with some success.
