Pulsating Victories for Defending Champions in BABA Premier League Playoff Series

It was not an opening night for the faint of heart.

Defending champions Pinelands and Burger King Clapham Bulls, both recorded pulsating victories in their opening round playoff series when the Co-operators General Insurance BABA Premier League continued on Tuesday.

Playing at the Wildey Gymnasium, Pinelands snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a 79-78 win over C.A.M. Smart Assurance City United Celtics, while Bulls needed overtime to overcome Fusionz Boutique Station Hill Cavaliers 93-87.

Celtics looked well on their way to creating the first upset of the playoffs as they held a 76-69 lead with only two minutes remaining in the game.

And when Celtics’ Jared Alleyne sank a three pointer to give his side a 78-72 lead with 59 seconds left, the writing seemed to be on the wall.

But Pinelands, playing without talented forward Kiserian Adams, staged an amazing comeback.

Rasheed Maynard’s basket was followed by a baseline three pointer by Rachad Hall to bring Pinelands within one (78-77).

Derion Hurley then did the unthinkable when he hit a tough step back, fade away jumper over his defender to put Pinelands in front (79-78) with 20 seconds on the clock.

Jeremy Gill had a chance to ice the win for Pinelands from the line, but after missing the first free-throw he intentionally missed the second and Pinelands was able to secure the rebound and run out the clock.

Maynard scored a game high 24 points with nine rebounds while the Hurley brothers Derion and Deroni finished with 14 and 13 points respectively and Hall added 11 points.

Celtics were led by Jared Alleyne with 16 points, Joel Hunte scored 15 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, Theo Greenidge and Anand Joseph-Thorne put up 12 points apiece and Joshua Gibbs had 10 points.

Meanwhile, there was some drama in the closely contested game between the Bulls and Cavs.

With the Cavs holding a slim 80-78 lead and 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the shot clock was inadvertently turned off too early, leading to the game being stopped with 13.9 seconds remaining by referee Richard Spencer.

After speaking with the desk, Spencer communicated to the teams that Station Hill, who had possession of the ball, would have five seconds left on the shot clock.

The decision was not taken well by the Cavs and after they failed to extend their lead, they could only watch on as the Bulls’ Simeon Maynard finished in traffic at the basket to tie the game just before the final whistle and force extra time.

In overtime, Maynard and Akeem Marsh were simply too much for the Cavaliers, with the duo leading their team to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.

Maynard finished the game with 35 points and seven rebounds, while Marsh finished with a double double of 18 points and 14 rebounds. Rahiim Gibbons contributed 13 points and Andrew Ifill and Kemar Benn each finished with 10 points.