Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
St George's Slayers' Leon Chung goes after a loose ball while being held by Link-up All Stars Geoffrey Brown during KFC/bmobile National Basketball League (NBL) action at the National Stadium Courts on Wednesday night. Defending champions St. Georges won the game 62-58 to advance to the competition's semi-finals. - ANTHONY MINOTT/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS, St Georges Slayers, clawed their way back from a 13-point deficit to eventually see off the Link-Up All-Stars 62-58 and book themselves the last semi-final spot in the KFC/bmobile National Basketball League (NBL) at the National Stadium courts on Wednesday night.
The game was not an easy one for the champs who had to work double-time to avoid being bit by the upset bug.
It was clear from early that the Link-Up All Stars, who finished the regular season seventh spot, meant business in the quarter-final encounter.
Game one hero Garfield Campbell, who finished the game with 14 points and six rebounds, went to work quickly with a three pointer and then, cutting hard to the basket to see his team to an 11-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
SHELL-SHOCKED
Slayers, who looked slow in transition defence and several other aspects of their game, could find no answers early and Leighton Meeks, who top-scored for Link Up with 17 points and 12 rebounds, was devastating in the open court.
With three minutes remaining in the second quarter, Link Up held a 28-15 lead over the shell-shocked champs.
"We have a bad habit of starting slowly and that is very concerning headed into the semi-finals," was the analysis of St. Georges' coach, Winston Harvey.
"However we went on a run and we had an excellent third quarter, that made the difference. But we will have to find a way to get a better start," he said.
The Slayers did have a solid third quarter and a balanced attack from Rohan Robinson, who had 15 points and nine rebounds, Andree Wilson, 13 points and 19 rebounds, and Kali McCarthy, 13 points and eight rebounds, saw them cut down the Link Up lead and establish a one-point edge of their own with 2:13 left to go in the third quarter.
DOWN TO THE WIRE
Meanwhile, Link Up, who depend heavily on their three-point shots, lost their range from behind the line. However, despite that, the game went right down to the wire as the score was tied at 58-58 with a minute left to go, but two clutch free throws from McCarthy sealed the deal for George's.
"We always seem to lose our way in the third quarter," said Link-Up coach Dave McLaren. "I think we were the better team all game long, we were unlucky to come up short," he said.
"However, we will be back bigger and better next year and with the help of our sponsors, hopefully take it to the next level," he said.
The Slayers will now take on the Denham Town Wizards in tomorrow's 7:00 p.m. encounter at the National Indoor Sports Centre (NISC). The top seeded Urban Knights will play four-time champions the Tivoli All Stars in the first semi-final at 5:00 p.m.
