By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

GAME four of the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) Division I Finals will be a crucial one for both the Commonwealth Bank Giants and Discount Distributors Rockets.

The latter is on the verge of closing out the defending champions as they now have a 2-1 series advantage following a gritty 78-71 victory on Tuesday night at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.

Meanwhile, the CB Giants’ backs are against the wall with Thursday’s contest set to determine whether their postseason hopes remain alive or if they will be dethroned.

Division One

Barrington Carter, head coach of the Rockets, said the key to the win was making big plays down the stretch.

“Down the stretch we had some issues. One or two players got frustrated but our sponsor/assistant coach Ryan kept everything together on the bench. Then when the players came back into the game they executed the right way and got one or two stops down the stretch to seal the deal,” Carter said.

The Rockets were a team on a mission from the opening tip. A sluggish start by the Giants led to their competitors advancing by 10 to put a lid on the first period ahead 20-10.

Roosevelt Whylly showed up and showed out with a side-high 23 points and 13 rebounds to stuff the stat sheet for the Rockets. He shot 9-for-20 from the field and canned three makes from behind the arc, including two big ones in the clutch.

Kemsey Sylvestre made some big plays throughout the ball game to close out game three with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals.

The defending champions chipped into the double digit lead and pulled within 5 (29-24) with 3:03 left in the second period. The Giants had a better showing in the second quarter, outscoring the Rockets 21-15 but they still trailed 35-31 going into the halftime break.

After seemingly hitting their stride in the second period, the CB Giants came out of the break committing sloppy turnovers and taking tough shots to no avail. Despite a slow start, Dylan Musgrove connected on a timely three-pointer at the 3:31 juncture of the third to give the Giants a one-point lead (41-40).

He ended the contest with a game-high 24 points and crashed the board 11 times.

The reigning division one champions were never able to gain a good footing in the game while the Rockets remained relentless in their attack especially in crunch time.

The CB Giants and Rockets went back and forth down in the clutch moments of the game but the Giants’ offence stalled down the stretch.

The Rockets were trailing 69-68 when their swarming defence forced a shot clock violation and their leading scorer Whlly pulled up and connected on a tough three-pointer to give them the lead.

Giants’ Eugene Bain had the ball at the top of the key and decided to take an ill-advised three-pointer early in the shot clock and missed. Sylvestre captured the long rebound and Whylly once again splashed a shot from deep. Michael “Furley” Bain Jr had possession of the ball for the defending champions but it was an empty one as he turned the ball over. Abel Joseph then made a go-ahead layup for the Rockets to prolong the unanswered 8-0 run which proved to be the final nail in the coffin.

“Roosevelt Whylly came back into the game with confidence after being a bit frustrated. We know what he is good at and he came into the game and did what he is supposed to do and hit two big shots to put us up. After that we put the pressure on them and started to make them play out of character and launch more threes than they were supposed to. It worked in our favour because all we had to do was get the rebounds and seal the deal,” coach Carter said.

Game four will be the difference maker for both teams. The Rockets are seeking to avenge a 3-0 finals loss dished out by the Giants last year and hoping to leave as the 2024 NPBA champions. On the other hand, the CB Giants are hoping to keep the title firmly in their grasp for the second consecutive year and avoid elimination at the hands of their rival.

Carter said the Rockets are going to come out and play their game.

“Basically, we just want to come here and play our game. We cannot let the hype get to us and we have to play like we are down. Once we play like our backs are against the wall and put our all out there I feel like we can beat anybody on any given night,” he said.

The NPBA division one basketball rivalry will continue tonight at 8pm in the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.