BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, December 8, 2017 (PLP PR Media Inc.) -- In a classic show of resiliency, defending champion Unity Domino Club last evening (Thursday December 7) went against accepted rules of logically predictions and beat arch-rivals Lodge Domino Club 13-10 in the second of three finals as it fights to defend the Constituency Number Seven Dr the Hon Timothy Harris Domino League title.
Since the 22nd edition of the annual Constituency Number Seven Domino League competition opened on Thursday August 10, defending champion Unity who had wrestled the title from Lodge Domino Club, has suffered three straight defeats at the hands of the former champion.
When the two met in the first round of the round-robin stage on Thursday August 24, Lodge beat Unity 13-11. In the second round played on Thursday October 26 Lodge beat them, again, 13-11. When they met on Tuesday December 5, for the first of three finals, Lodge returned the same score banging Unity 13-11.
It was, therefore, a foregone conclusion that last evening Lodge Domino Club was going to repeat what they would have done three times in a row this season. However, what happened at the Edgar Gilbert Sporting Complex pavilion in Molineux last evening is not what many pundits had on their thoughts.
So, what did Unity do that they had not done in those three meetings where they got properly banged by Lodge? Veteran Unity player Simeon ‘Cuban’ Liburd aptly summed it up this way: “When you dig in, you have to dig deep.” Unity players dug deep last evening.
The two teams will therefore meet for the final and deciding game in a best of three finals, on Sunday December 10 at the same venue starting from 4:00 pm. One thing anyone can safely bet on is the tip that “the best team will surely win on Sunday”.
The game last evening was called to order by League Organiser Calvin Farrell at 7:38 pm where he request Unity players to take their seats first.
Unity captain Edmund ‘Fergie’ Rawlins and player Reginald Richards took Table One, while Antonio ‘Marsh’ Phillip and Allington Berridge occupied Table Two. As for Lodge, McAllister Thomas and Javed Thomas occupied Table One, and Captain O’Niel Thomas and player Everton Boon occupied Table Two.
It was on Table Two that Unity got its opening point and also its winner point. At 7:50 pm, Unity got its first point from Table Two, and six minutes later from the same table Lodge got its first point. At 8:16 pm Unity scored another point also from Table Two, to take an early lead, 2-1.
Things might have been rough on Table One, as the first point on that table was scored at 8:18 pm by Unity who then led 3-1. But to prove that they were not asleep as to why it had taken that long to get their first point on Table One, at 8:27 pm Unity scored again, and this time a double, to lead 5-1 .
When the double point was scored by Unity, McAllister Thomas and Javed Thomas of Lodge took a three-minute break outside. However, when play resumed at 8:30 pm on Table One, Horatio Thomas replaced McAllister Thomas.
Table Two also returned the second point for Lodge at 8:42 pm, but before they could celebrate, Unity hit another devastating double point from Table One at 8:52 pm to comfortably lead 7-2. The heat was felt hard by Lodge, who brought back McAllister Thomas, and rested Javed Thomas. And while this was happening, Unity added another point from Table Two to lead 8-2.
While it looked as if Unity players had been sent to shed Lodge blood, Lodge players reasoned that they were not going to take the slaughter like sacrificial lambs. They rallied back with a point to reduce the deficit to 3-9, and at 9:27 pm from action table, Table Two, Lodge hit the big one with a two-pointer to reduce the deficit to 5-9 and momentarily shook Unity in their boots.
The blow inflicted on them by Lodge was so telling that all the Unity players walked off the room, with one claiming that he was going to ‘burst a leak’. When they returned into the pavilion, Cuban and Marsh occupied Table One, and on scoring another point to lead 10-5, it was Lodge players who gathered for a briefing, which paid off because on resuming they scored straight points and at 10:02 pm from Table Two they made it 9-10, only one point behind Unity. At that juncture both teams took a break.
Realising that good results were coming out of Table Two, when play resumed Unity Captain Edmund ‘Fergie’ Rawlins shifted base to Table Two where he teamed up with Antonio ‘Marsh’ Phillip, while Simeon ‘Cuban’ Liburd and Allington Berridge settled on Table One,
This strategy paid off, as at 10:30 pm, Table One pushed the results in favour of Unity to 11-9. At 10:36 pm Lodge scored a point and reduced the deficit to 10-11, but from Table One Unity pushed the score-line to 12-10; and at 10:54 pm from Table Two Unity sealed Lodge’s fate when they got a point to win at 13-10.
The league, as the name suggests, is sponsored by the area Parliamentary Representative Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, who is also the Prime Minister of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. He is also the Political Leader of the Peoples Labour Party (PLP) one of the three parties in the ruling Team Unity Administration.
This year the league has a record fourteen teams taking part. Twelve of the teams are from Constituency Number Seven, while two of the teams, Saddlers Domino Club and Parsons Domino Club are from the neighbouring Constituency Number Six.
Disclaimer
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers.
