MALONEY Pacers maintained their perfect record in the Anomaly Basketball tournament when they pulled away in the fourth quarter to get a 78-67 victory over Caledonia Clippers in the final at the Maloney Indoor Sporting Complex on October 20.
On September 29, the Pacers brushed aside the Clippers by an 86-70 margin in their group one matchup.
And although the final was a tight affair through three quarters, big plays down the stretch by Domair Gladstone and finals MVP Tyrik Singh (18 points, 13 boards) led the Pacers to the crown.
The Pacers had a fast start to the contest and they ran out to a 22-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, with Singh and Jelani Valley making their presence felt in the paint, Jason Friday pulling the strings from his point guard position and Tyrese Fields proving to be a threat from the perimeter.
With veteran Steven “Lighter” Lewis in their ranks, the Clippers were up for the fight and they took a slender 36-35 lead into the halftime break.
Lewis came to life in the second quarter and he went into the break with 14 points and five boards.
The margins were fine as both teams left it all out on the court to try and get the upper hand.
The Pacers regained the lead late in the third quarter to take a 56-51 lead heading into the final quarter.
Both teams made mini runs in the fourth quarter, and the Clippers cut the Pacers’ lead to two with just over six minutes left.
With Ako Pascall (17 points, seven boards) draining a timely three, the Clippers appeared to be going on a decisive run as they took a 63-60 lead.
However, Gladstone dug deep in his bag to answer with a three-point shot of his own to tie the scores at 63 with just under five minutes left in the game.
After a Clippers timeout, Gladstone hit another three-point shot as the Pacers opened up a 70-65 lead with two minutes left.
The Clippers had no further answers for the relentless Pacers unit, and Friday and Singh put the finishing touches on the result in the closing stages with a couple of plays at the basket.
The Anomaly title win marked the fourth championship for the Pacers this year as they also copped the DIAL premier division (open men) and under-23 titles, to go along with the Momentum Invitational under-23 crown.
Arima MP Pennelope Beckles was on hand to present the Pacers with their trophy and she commended their feat and urged the players to continue being shining lights within their communities.
In the preceding third place playoff, New Chapter Academy (NCA) Warriors defeated Police by a 95-79 margin.
TT 3x3 basketball standout Ahkeem Boyd starred for NCA with 29 points, eight boards and four assists. Kern Alexis led Police with 12 points and 13 boards.
Police held a 43-39 lead at the half, but NCA swiftly responded as they surged ahead by a 65-58 margin at the end of the third quarter. In the final quarter, Boyd and NCA flexed their shooting muscles to outscore Police 30-21 in the period to get the 16-point win.
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