Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
THE PORTMORE Flames dug deep to burn the Link Up All-Stars in a nail biting 84-82 double overtime thriller, while the St. George's Slayers edged the Arnett Rockers 65-60 as KFC/bmobile sponsored National Basketball League (NBL) action continued on Tuesday evening at the National Stadium Courts.
Twenty-seven points and eight rebounds from two guard Dave McGowan and 21 points from shooting guard Adrian Coote saw the Flames claim their first win of season. Leading 31-20 heading into halftime, the Flames seemed to be in cruise control but, the All-Stars who handed Tivoli their first loss of the season on Sunday, caught fire from behind the arch at the start of third. Leading the air raid was Garfield Campbell who had a game-high 31 points and nine rebounds.
SHARP SHOOTERS
"These guys can really shoot, Campbell can really shoot, we knew that they would come out shooting we tried to contest them but the shots just kept falling for them,"
Was Portmore Flames' coach, Kevin Pinnock's, analysis of a third quarter which saw the All-Stars sharp shoot their way to a just a four-point deficit going into the final quarter.
A big three by Coote gave Portmore a 74-69 lead with two minutes left to go in the final stanza, but the All-Stars kept shooting their way back and with only seconds left in the game, a Campbell long-distance jumper sent the game into overtime at 75-75.
However, after forcing double overtime, their game rally was not be enough and clutch baskets by the Flames saw them pull away to seal a tight win.
