The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

THE Commonwealth Bank Giants and Mr Ship It Freight Regulators are on a collision course for a big showdown in the John Archer Division of the New Providence Basketball Association’s 2017 postseason.

In their first round playoffs that got started on Friday night at the AF Adderley Gymnasium, the Giants stomped past the Pirates 104-87, while the Regulators put the grip on the defending champions PJ Stingers with a 108-86 victory.

The four teams will be back in action for game two of their best-of-three series on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Vince Ferguson playoffs will get underway tonight when the Shockers entertain the Rockets in the 7pm opener and the Mail Boat Cybots face the University of the Bahamas Mingoes in the feature contest.

The men’s division two league playoffs will begin on Friday.

• Here’s a summary

of the games played:

Giants 104

Pirates 87

Commonwealth Bank, winners of the pennant, made a statement as head coach Perry Thompson said their goal is to recapture the title after losing the last two seasons to the Cyobts and Stingers respectively.

They didn’t have any mercy on the Pirates as they controlled the tempo from start to finish.

“For us, it’s important to win the first one. We liked the intensity that we started out with, although we got relaxed in the third quarter, but we regained and got it together to put them away in the fourth quarter,” Thompson stressed.

Thompson admit that it’s even more important for them to come back out in game two and repeat what they did in the opener so they can prepare for the next round.

“We can’t take any team for granted but we feel pretty confident in our guys. They are eager to win the championship and get the title back,” he said. “So we’re looking forward to the next round.

“The teams are really stacked this year, so once we can continue to stay strong, healthy and play as a unit, we should have no problems getting back to the finals. We are overdue. We have to come back and get our things.”

Michael ‘Ferley’ Bain, who went down with an injury when the Giants started their two-straight losing streak, is now back at full strength and was unstoppable Friday night as he led a balanced scoring attack in their rout.

Bain, playing just over 35 minutes, exploded for a side high 30 points as he connected on 9-of-20 from the field and 12-of-15 from the free throw line. He also pulled down 12 rebounds, dished out six assists, blocked three shots and striped one pass.

What he didn’t do was made up by David Taylor with 15 points, four rebounds and three steals. Jeffrey Henfield contributed 13 points, Quintin Demeritte had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and as many steals, Trent Cox also had 11 points, Gibran Smith had eight points and five rebounds and Kevin Hinsey had seven points and six rebounds.

Commonwealth Bank opened a 33-14 lead after the first quarter, extended it to 60-32 at the half, but watched as the Pirates got back into the contest to trail 76-68 at the end of the third before they blew them out in the fourth.

In 36 minutes, Dominique Fernander matched the game high honours with 30 for the Pirates. He was 11-for-18 from the field and 7-for-9 from the foul line with a three-pointer. Fernander also had 14 rebounds.

Kronoff Dean had 27 points with five rebounds and Tevin Hudson chipped in with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Giants outrebounded the Pirates 55-46 and they made just 18 turnovers, compared to 24 by their opponents.

Regulators 108,

Stingers 86

Mr Ship It Freight led from start to finish, but it wasn’t until late in the fourth that they got to put PJ’s away. They led 25-19 after the first quarter, 44-40 at the half and 76-59 at the end of the third.

The Regulators outrebounded the Stingers 55-37, but had four more (34-30) turnovers than their opponents.

Eugene Bain powered inside for a game high 31 points as he shot 12-for-19 from the field and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe. He also yanked down 15 rebounds.

Gameliel, providing a big 1-2 punch in their big frontcourt, followed with 21 points and seven rebounds, Renaldo Baillou, hitting three consecutive three-pointers in a streak in the fourth as they surged to their rout, added 17 points and four rebounds, Patrick ‘PJ’ Brice had nine points, Miguel Mackey, with 11 assists, had six points, along with Cruz Simon and Truillio Darville.

Rashad Ingraham had 19 points and six rebounds to lead the Stingers, who got into foul trouble with four of their players fouled out in the fourth and one of them getting ejected and will have to sit out game two.

Domnick Bridgewater had 18 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists and steals and Devon Ferguson had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. Before they fouled out, Samuel Curtis had 11 points and six rebounds and Randy Williams had 10 points and seven steals.

“The first one is also the most important one. That’s a pivotal one. That’s the one you need,” said Mr Ship It Ship head coach Don ‘Robo Cop’ Dorsett.

“As one of the new teams in the league, we have a lot of expectations on us, so that first one was huge.”

Now that they have it under their belt, Dorsett said they have to continue to apply the pressure on the defending champions.

“I expect the Stingers to come out and give us another fight. That’s a team you can have down by 20 points and they will come back fighting,” he said. “No matter what time it is in the game. So I expect a big fight on Wednesday night.”