The Tribune

By JONATHAN BURROWS

Tribune Sports Reporter

jburrows@tribunemedia.net    

THE Nassau Flight Services Ballers booked their ticket to the Bahamas Government Departmental Basketball Association (BGDBA) championship series with a 75-54 win over the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture Panthers yesterday at the AF Adderley Gymnasium.

The win closed out a hard-fought semifinal best-of-five series, with the Ballers taking it 3-2. The Panthers had forced the deciding game five after an 0-2 deficit.

Abel Joseph led the Ballers with a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. His high IQ and on-court coach mentality paved the way for the Ballers to execute this win.

The Panthers’ leading scorer was Brandon Strachan, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort. With the win, the Ballers move on to face the number one-seeded Police CrimeStoppers in the best-of-seven championship series. The CrimeStoppers were dominant throughout the regular season, losing just one game that came at the hands of the Ballers. “We came and we played our defense, and the players took what they gave us which was a whole lot,” said Baller’s head coach Ricardo Richardson. “Heading into the finals I expect them to play the same way and play the same defense, we going to use what we have to come out victorious in the next series,” he added. 

The championship matchup between the Ballers and the CrimeStoppers tips off later this week at the A.F. Adderly Gymnasium.