MALONEY Pacers will begin their claim for a pair of titles when they tip off their respective championship and premiership division finals in the Destiny Invitational Arima League (DIAL) at the Princess Royal Basketball Court in Arima this weekend.
In the championship division final, Pacers' "B" team will play Spartans TT in a one-off, winner-take-all match from 8.30 pm on March 23, while on March 24, Pacers will take on New Chapter Global Sport Academy in game one of their best-of-three finals matchup.
On March 15, Pacers "B" booked their passage to the championship division final with a 108-88 win against the University of the West Indies (UWI). Pacers "B" led by 51-44 margin at halftime and extended that lead to an 80-64 margin by the end of the third quarter. UWI had a strong fourth quarter where they drained 34 points, but led by Tyrese Fields (35 points, eight rebounds), Pacers "B" maintained their comfortable advantage to get the 20-point win.
In the other championship division semi, Spartans were led by a strong performance from Kevin Garcia (37 points, five rebounds, five steals) as they got a 106-87 victory over New Chapter "B". Spartans held a resounding 60-34 lead at the half, and they clinched their spot in the final despite a spirited showing from their opponents.
On March 17, both the Pacers and New Chapter won game two of their respective semifinals to clinch their series 2-0 via blow-outs.
Against Black Mamba, the Pacers trailed 19-15 after the first quarter. However, they turned up the heat from the second quarter as they stormed to a massive 97-60 win.
TT 3x3 basketball standout Ahkeel "Smally" Boyd was the main man for Pacers once again, as he led all scorers with 22 points, to go along with nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals.
In game two of their semi against Caracas City, New Chapter held a slim 20-19 lead after the first quarter, and led by a 46-34 margin at halftime. New Chapter exploded with 59 second-half points as they played Caracas off the court to get a facile 105-71 victory.
Adam Salazar had a monster game for New Chapter with 36 points, six assists and six rebounds.
On March 24, Salazar and his New Chapter team will try to quiet Boyd and the rampant Pacers in game one of their premiership final. Game two will be played on March 28.
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