The Tribune

THE Police Crimestoppers are just one game away from hoisting the Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association (BGDBA) championship, while the Nassau Flight Services Ballers face elimination tonight.

The Crimestoppers picked up two pivotal wins in weekend action over at the DW Davis Gymnasium.

The second-seeded team knocked off the Ballers 91-82 on Friday night and returned on Saturday to defeat them once again 82-72 for a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.

Team head coach Anthony “Cops” Rolle expressed how it felt to witness his team take command of the series over the weekend.

“We did not have a slow start and that was surprising to me. We started off the game with a 10-0 run and then we went up as much as 26 points but my versatile big man Adam Johnson twisted his ankle and they picked up a little momentum from that. They were able to bring it within nine to 10 points but we were able to weather the storm and still pull off the victory. Once we come out with the same start that we had in game three we will be okay,” he said.

He is looking forward to game four tonight but knows not to take anything for granted.

“It feels good to be in the driver’s seat with a commanding 3-0 lead. I do not want to get overconfident with that lead because the job is not finished yet. The series still requires four games to win the championship and that was our initial goal from the start of the season.  “My guys were a bit overconfident after the game last night but I told them to stay in the moment and that we still have unfinished business to complete. Until the fat lady sings and we are victorious in game four, that is when I will be ready to celebrate the championship but not before that,” he said.

Four Crimestoppers cleared double digits on the offensive end of the floor. Sirmar Rolle led the team with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. He was also efficient, shooting 57 per cent from the field.Kirklyn Farrington pooled in 15 points, five rebounds and two assists. Dion McPhee ended the night with 14 points and Dastyn Baker finished with 10 points, 10 boards and six assists.

Slow starts plagued the Crimestoppers in the first two games of the series but, on Saturday night, they switched it up. 

The team ran out to a 13-3 advantage in the opening quarter which blossomed into a 20-8 lead going into the second period of play.

The Ballers started to build some momentum in the second quarter but continued to trail the Crimestoppers 47-26 at the halftime break.

Lamont McPhee, who had a game-high 33 points, trimmed the deficit down to 13 (52-39) with 5:04 to go until the fourth. 

Versatile player Adam Johnson left the contest early in the third period with an ankle injury and the Ballers started to ramp up their intensity. 

The Ballers went on to outscore their opponents 21-11 in the third but they still had some ground to make up with the score at 58-47.

Tehrad Rahming drained a jumper for the Ballers to shave the lead down to single digits (69-60) at the 5:29 mark but the Crimestoppers never gave up too much of an edge. 

Baker splashed a timely make from deep to extend the lead back to double digits. With less than a minute on the clock in game three, McPhee buried a three of his own to close in on the Crimestoppers’ lead 79-72. 

But it was not enough. 

D McPhee was fouled and split his pair of free throws to give the Crimestoppers a good enough cushion to seal the game three victory.

The Crimestoppers dominated the boards 66 to 57.

L McPhee paced the Ballers with 33 points, six rebounds and seven threes.

Deonta Tinker dropped 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists in the loss.

Game four is slated to be played at 8pm tonight in the DW Davis Gymnasium. 

Will the Ballers stave off elimination or will the Crimestoppers take home the crown?