The Esso Blazers had a close call but they are still on track for glory.
Esso eliminated the DHL Wolves in their opening round playoff encounter in division one of the Cayman Islands Basketball Association men’s league. Esso beat the Wolves 82-71 in a decisive game three of their best-of-three-series last Sunday.
Camana Bay’s Arts and Recreation Centre would see Esso earn the victory behind Perry Levy’s 20 points.
Andres Kirchman was the top scorer for the Wolves with 22 points.
It was the tightest series of the 2012 playoffs so far as Wolves claimed game one 72-62 before the Blazers won game two 89-77. Esso’s game two effort was stellar as four players were in double digits. Shaad O’Garro led the way with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks while Jasen Campbell posted 17 points (off two three-pointers), four steals and three rebounds. Kevin Maxwell added 13 points and eight rebounds with Carlo Archibold chipping in 12 points, three rebounds and two blocks.
DHL produced four star performers of their own in top scorer Dwight O’Garro (game-high 20 points, 17 rebounds, four steals), Lance Kearsh (18 points, six rebounds), Earl Allen (14 points, four rebounds, four steals) and Andres Kirchman (12 points, 17 rebounds).
For the series to reach three games is somewhat surprising. Esso were the regular season champions and top overall seed after posting an 8-0 record. The Wolves were fourth at 3-5.
On the other hand, the Blazers have struggled to topple DHL in recent years, most notably losing to the green gang in the 2009 national finals.
The Esso victory now pits them in the 2012 finals against the reigning champions, the Dominos Warriors. Dominos shook off a mediocre 4-4 regular season showing to complete a two-game sweep of Curtis Wilson and the Shining Stars Childhood Care and Education Centre.
Dominos won game one 92-84 and game two 76-64. Second-year Serbian star Borislav Djordjic was the difference, posting 39 points (off three treys) and 11 rebounds in game one with 27 points, 23 rebounds and eight assists in game two.
Team captain Collin Anglin also contributed (34 points, seven rebounds in game one), as did Rotando Thompson (22 points, 10 rebounds in game two).
The finals are expected to start this Sunday, 27 May, at 7pm at Camana Bay. Game two is slated for next Sunday, 3 June with game three, if necessary, on 10 June.
Related Videos
