- Carlington Wilmot/Freelance Photographer
Tivoli's Damion Young attempts to dunk during the opening game of the National Basketball League at the National Indoors Sports Centre yesterday.
Charmaine Austin, Staff Reporter
LAST YEAR'S beaten finalists Urban Knights were expecting to be 'blown away' by defending Division One basketball champions Tivoli All Stars but they were so wrong.
They came out 78-74 winners over the All Stars in the opening game of the KFC and Cable & Wireless sponsored National Basketball League at the National Indoor Sports Centre yesterday.
Said coach Calvin Martin: "We were expecting to be blown away but we did what we needed to do to ensure victory. We are now a more disciplined unit and I believe with continued teamwork we will realise our goals, the most important of which is to maintain our place in the Division One league."
Tivoli scored the first two points when the game started, but Urban Knights' 11 unanswered points put them in a comfortable position that safely kept them ahead to midway through the final quarter.
At the end of each period the Knights held the lead 27-12, 46-35 and 61-51 respectively.
FIGHTING SPIRIT
Tivoli, meanwhile, have lost a number of their top players but their fighting spirit is still intact. Levar Henry played a key role in their comeback and with under four minutes left in the game, the team rallied to even the score and then took the lead and went ahead 69-66.
Back-to-back turnovers in the dying minutes proved costly for the West Kingston side and Urban Knights capitalised to win by four points.
Reacting to his team's loss, Tivoli's coach, Dennis Hutchinson, said: "We made some crucial mistakes after we got the lead and that cost us the game. We had no defence so that gave Urban Knights the opportunity they needed to lead by so many points.
"Although we train every day, we still weren't prepared for the match because the chemistry within the team is not right yet."
