Urban Knights, Upper Room Eagles look to close out NBL semis
Published:Thursday | November 23, 2023 | 12:11 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
THE PAIR of Urban Knights and Upper Room Eagles could book their spot in the 2023 National Basketball League (NBL) final as they both take 1-0 leads into tonight’s game two of their best-of-three series against Portmore Flames and St George’s Slayers, respectively.
The Knights defeated the Flames 67-53 in a closely fought Game One on Sunday night, thanks to the exploits of the dominance of Jadeja McCormack, who registered 16 points and four rebounds. The in-form Nicholai Brown chipped in with 10 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, while Omar Barnes had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Oneil Brown, head coach of the Urban Knights, said, heading into tonight’s game, there was still room for improvement, but he believes the team is in a good place mentally and physically.
“We won Game One but I think we can get better in a lot of areas. I didn’t like how we played in spurts. So I think, going into Game Two, we can adjust a lot of things. The team is in a better place now mentally and physically, so we have to take it day by day and game by game,” he shared.
Ludlow Barker, Flames head coach, said, with their backs against the wall, his team will have to correct their mistakes if they are to force a decisive Game Three.
“It’s definitely not the position we wanted to be in and, right now, we have our backs against the wall. We have to take this one to force a Game Three,” said Barker.
In Game One of the other semi-final, defending champions St George’s Slayers were stunned by the Upper Room Eagles, losing 88–78. Chief destroyer for the Upper Room Eagles was Anthony White, who had 22 points and 19 rebounds.
Simon Brown, head coach of the Eagles said. while Game One was a solid performance, the ultimate goal is to secure the top prize.
“Even though we won, there is a lot that we can improve on, and we are pushing to make these improvements. The ultimate goal is the NBL trophy, so closing out the semi-finals series is of utmost importance,” Brown explained.
Rohan Robinson, Slayers head coach, expects tonight’s game to be another close encounter.
“We’ve assessed our last performance and have made the necessary adjustments to change the outcome of tonight’s game, as we expect this to be another tough encounter,” said Robinson.
Both matches will be played at the National Stadium courts, with the Portmore Flames vs Urban Knights fixture set for a 6:15 p.m. tip off and the Upper Room Eagles vs St George’s Slayers set for 7:45 p.m.