LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter

Port Royal Bulls' shooting guard, Paul Oliphant (left), dribbles past Tivoli Wizards' Jermaine Brown (right) and Earl Sinclair (background) during game one of the KFC National Basketball League best-of-three semi-final play-offs at the National Stadium Courts on Saturday night. Port Royal Bulls won 78-57 to lead the series 1-0. - Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer

Majesty Gardens will be coming with fire in their eyes this evening as they look to force a decisive Game Three in the KFC National Basketball League semi-final against champions Urban Knights at the National Stadium court.

Majesty Gardens' top three players limped off the court after Game One on Sunday night after losing 63-75 and their fans were irate after the loss, following what they thought was unsportsmanlike play by Urban Knights and biased officiating.

The battle wounds included an aggravated loin to Kemar McLeish, a sprain ankle to Barrington Berry and Baldon Todd suffered hamstring cramps.

Urban Knights, meanwhile, walked away with the conviction they can close out the series this evening at 7:45.

In today's other Game Two semi-final at 6:00, second seed Port Royal Bulls will seek to eliminate Tivoli Wizards. Port Royal won Game One 78-57 on Saturday.

Majesty Gardens, a talented second-year team looking to better their quarter-final performance last season, won the first quarter of Game One 21-13 after ending the period on an 11-2 run. With Urban Knights lousy at the start, they used their run-and-gun play to good effect, engaging their thrill-seeking fans.

Andy Smith, who had a game-high 23 points, hushed the Majesty supporters with eight second-quarter points as he hauled his team back into contention for a 35-33 lead.

Majesty began to show signs of fatigue in the second half when Todd (22 points and seven rebounds) and McLeish (20 points and 12 rebounds) began cramping up. With McLeish, in particular, struggling, finishing with a low shooting percentage, Majesty lost their semblance of order. Berry, who finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds, had minimal impact as he was nursing an injured ankle.

"Urban Knights is relentless and they keep coming at you until they break your spirit," said Majesty Gardens coach Ludlow Barker. "We have skilled players but they have got to get mentally strong and disciplined. We can't play them as if it's a race meet. We need to slow it down, take care of the basketball and we won't have any difficulty."

Smith, who also had five rebounds and four assists, got help from Omar Barnes, with 13 points and eight rebounds, and Oneil Mundle with eight points and 21 rebounds.

Tough shooting night

Several key players had a tough shooting night but were effective on other areas.

"I'm not totally pleased with the performance, but I'm pleased about the fighting spirit," said Urban Knights coach Calvin Martin. "We weren't having our best game tonight but they showed some grit and determination and in the end I think that's what carried us off."

Martin pointed out that he expects another gruelling battle tonight and the winning team will be the one with the most willpower.

"This Majesty Gardens team is very talented. They have the two best players in Jamaica, Kemar McLeish and Baldon Todd, so it is always a battle royal when Urban Knights come up against them and it's basically a test of will," he said.

If there is a game three in either series, it will be played on Thursday with the finals scheduled to begin on Saturday.