The Tribune

THE New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) division one and two championships are in full swing and action is already starting to heat up.

Commonwealth Bank Giants dropped game one of the series against the Discount Distributors Liquors Rockets but were able to tie the series 1-1 last night.

In division two, the Your Essential Store Giants are in the driver’s seat of their best-of-five championship series with a commanding 2-0 lead on the Produce Express Rockets.

Division One

The CB Giants managed to pull off a narrow 84-82 win against the Rockets on Sunday night.

The Rockets threw the first blow of the series in weekend action but the defending champions recovered in game two.

CB Giants’ veterans Dylan Musgrove and Jackson Jacob scored 18 points apiece to lift the team to a hard-fought win.

Musgrove crashed the board seven times and was efficient with his shot making 8-for-14 field goals in the contest. Jacob paired his 18 points with five rebounds and three assists.

The fourth quarter began with the Rockets ahead by five (62-57). The score then shifted to 67-60 but the Giants reeled off an 11-2 run to gain a slim lead (71-69) at the 5:28 mark.

Whenever the Rockets tried to create separation, the defending champions would respond and close in on the scoreboard.

With 2:16 on the game clock, Michael “Furley” Bain Jr connected on a floater to change the score to 79-78. Both teams played the foul game down the stretch but Jacob would tie the game 82-82 at the charity stripe and his teammate Jordan Wilson followed it up with a game-winning layup to put the lid on game two.

The next game will be played between the two powerhouse teams on Tuesday evening.

Division Two

The YES Giants kept the momentum going in game two to knock off the Rockets 79-73.

Anderias Black stepped up to the challenge and turned in a double-double performance. He powered his way to 17 points and 15 rebounds along with 2 steals.

His teammate Kenvon Farrington put up 16 points and picked up five steals on the night.

The YES Giants were firmly in charge headed into the break leading by a 14-point margin (46-32). The Rockets put together a formidable run to outscore the Giants 25-21 in the third quarter and trim the lead to 10 (67-57) going into the fourth.

Despite outscoring the reigning division two champions 41-33 in the second half, the Rockets were unable to take control of the ball game resulting in a gritty win by the Giants.

Anton Williams scored 19 points and forced seven turnovers in 40 minutes played for the Rockets.

The Rockets are now facing elimination tonight in the best-of-five championship series.

The game will begin at 8pm in the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium.