By TENAJH SWEETING

Tribune Sports Reporter

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

THE New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) regular season resumed this weekend at the AF Adderley Gymnasium following a brief hiatus for the holidays.

In division one play, the Rebels claimed their first victory of 2025 with a narrow 79-73 win against the TMT Giants.

Over in division two, the Mason Rockets edged out the BIBT Great Whites 68-58 on Saturday night.

Division Two

It was a close affair between the Rockets and Great Whites until Lamont McPhee started to heat up throughout the course of the game.

The Rockets’ star player finished the contest with a game-high 26 points, 18 rebounds, four dimes and four steals. He shot 11-for-22 in the ball game.

With less than a minute to go in the first period, McPhee drove the ball coast-to-coast to put the Rockets in charge 15-11 going in the second quarter.

He talked about what went right for the team in their latest win.

“I think we came out to play together as a team. We had a little bit of mistakes but we have a good coaching staff as well. I think in the early part of the game we slacked off but we picked on our defence. We just came to play ball,” he said.

The Great Whites smelled blood in the water and closed in on the Rockets 22-21 at the 4:38 mark of the second period. 

However, the Mason Rockets put together a quick unanswered 7-0 run to an eight-point separation (29-21).

With two more quarters remaining in the ball game, the Rockets went into the break with a 32-22 edge.

After going into the halftime break with a double-digit cushion, the Rockets did not let up.

By the 6:28 mark of the third quarter, the team sat comfortably in the driver’s seat 43-28.

The final nail in the Great Whites’ coffin came in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. McPhee perfectly orchestrated an alley oop to Leo Johnson which gave his team a 59-44 lead and they never looked back. 

The Rockets’ “run and gun” offence complemented by their relentless defence in the passing lanes paid dividends in their latest victory. 

The team forced 35 turnovers which translated to 31 points. Additionally, they earned 27 points from fastbreak opportunities compared to 15 points converted by the Great Whites.

McPhee said the team has one goal for the rest of the way - to win.

“We hope to win the rest of the way. The goal is to win that’s it. In order to get a ring we just have to put our trust in each other and come out and compete against these other teams,” he said. 

Travis Robinson had a team-high 14 points and nine boards for the BIBT Great Whites in the loss.

Division One

The Rebels pulled off a comeback victory to upset the TMT Giants on Saturday night. 

Dejoan Sturrup erupted for a game-high 24 points, nine rebounds and two steals in the Rebels’ triumph.

After closing out the first half on top 39-37, the Rebels found themselves behind by double digits in the third quarter.

Fayne Thompson gave the TMT Giants the lead 52-51 at the 4:29 mark of the third. From this point, the team closed out the third period with a 13-2 run. 

The TMT Giants outscored the Rebels 26-14 and led 63-53 to end the third.

The Rebels withstood the Giants’ massive third quarter surge and returned the favour when it counted the most. 

The team opened the fourth quarter with eight straight points to close in 63-61 at the 7:53 mark. With the Giants now reeling, Ishad Rolle gave the Rebels the lead 67-65 following a fadeaway shot.

Both teams exchanged buckets until the Rebels got ahead by four (74-70) with less than three minutes to go in the fourth. 

After this stint, the Giants were unable to recover.

Dashaun Saunders put up a team-high 18 points and nine boards for the TMT Giants in the loss.

NPBA action continues tonight with the TMT Giants taking on the Commonwealth Bank Giants at 8:30pm. The Your Essential Store Giants will match up against the Rhythm Rebels in the opening matchup at 7pm.