Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
Arnett Gardens Rockers got their Christmas festivities off to an early start when they turned back Majesty Gardens 74-65 as the Excelsior Challenge Cup concluded at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Thursday night.
The Rockers, led by for a second straight game by Vivian Spence who on this occasion poured in 23 points, proved to be just too much in the end for the visitors, this despite the best efforts of Kemar McLeish who netted a game-high 28 points in the encounter.
The game was a close one for the first couple of quarters, but Arnett finished the stronger of the teams and outplayed the recently-promoted Majesty Gardens in the final stanza.
Majesty Gardens however, suffered a major blow when tournament top scorer Baldon Todd was not able to finish the game due to a knee injury he sustained towards the end of the third quarter. Despite a valiant attempt Todd had to leave at the start of the fourth.
Majesty Gardens coach Paul Williams, while pleased with his team's performance, believed they were always going to be in for a tough time with the whistle as Excelsior sponsored not only the competition but the Arnett Gardens team as well.
"It was a good game, but we got a tough time from the referees all night. Nonetheless we made it to the finals and we take some encouragement from that."
He added: "The players put up a good fight, but I think their spirits were dampened by some questionable calls. Both teams are in the National Basketball League (NBL) and we gained some valuable knowledge from the game, but it was a tough loss."
Community spirit
"Winning this cup is a nice start. One of our aims has been to build some community spirit. We had a couple of fans out here tonight and it's a nice warm up for the NBL pre-season," said Arnett Gardens coach Maria Mercurius.
Arnett Gardens' Ian Gooden walked away as the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the team was presented with the Excelsior Challenge trophy along with a cash prize.
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