Basseterre, St. Kitts - The LIME SKABA Premier division final four is set. In a strange twist the once struggling Rams Hitters who lost their first 3 games of the season have somehow managed to clinch the top seed position in the Premier division final 4.
For most of the season the top position was rotated between the Cotton Ground Rebels who went had a near perfect first round and the St.Pauls Tuff Knots who were almost as equally perfect as the CG Rebels. Defending Champions Horsfords Ghetto Roots had a mediocre first round having lost 3 games.
However the rebounded well in the 2nd round defeating all opponents except one. Unlike the other teams in the final 4 the Ghetto Roots has suffered from the absence a number of key players including Levi “By-By” Fyfeild and Carlos Monzac who both missed a number of games for the season due to injuries .
Fyfeild will likely be out for the playoffs as he may have to undergo surgery to repair a damaged knee. Asim Jenkins and William Natta both key components of the Ghetto Roots dominance in the 2009 championship season are overseas pursuing studies. In addition Dale Rochester aka the Bubba Dread was banned from playing whilst wearing his religious turban. According to Dwayne Sturge of the Ghetto Roots Coaching staff the team was much depleted for most of the season but he is confident of a Ghetto Roots repeat.
The final four team were separated by hundredths of a point as they all shared the same win /loss record. However Hitters was able to capture the top seed as a result of a blow-out victory in the 2nd round over the St.Pauls Tuff Knots. The final four seeding will see the Rams Hitters taking the top spot, followed by the St. Paul's Tuff Knotts, Cotton Ground Rebels and the defending champions; S.L. Horsfords Ghetto Roots are ranked fourth.
The LIME SKABA Premier Playoffs will start with St.Pauls Tuff Knots clashing with the Cotton Ground Rebels in game 1 on Sunday and Game 2 will see the injury plagued Defending Champions the Horsford Ghetto Roots going up against each the Rams Hitters.
The LIME 'A' Division playoffs tipped off on Tuesday with the Blue Devils ranked as the top team, followed by the Village Tickers, Wolf Pack and Horsford’s Rootsie.
The Blue Devils started the playoffs on a good note when they defeated the Horsford’s Rootsie 72-66 in the best-of-three semi-finals “A” division playoff series. The Blue Devils’ Azziwah “Milk” Niles led all scorers with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while teammate Jason Clarke had 12 points. Jason “Shaggy” Norford led Rootsie with 12 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals while Montroville “Montras” Pemberton had six points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Lady Blue Devils began their quest for a 5th SKABA Female League Championship with a comfortable 46-35 win over former Champions the Cayon Lionesses in game 1 of the Best of Three finals. Cayon will be looking to rebound on Thursday to take game 2 and force a game 3 decider .The Village Tickers will clash with Wolf Pack also on Thursday in Game 1 of their “A” division semi-finals playoff game.
Rootsie will be seeking to rebound and take game 2 of their best of 3 semi-finals series against the Blue Devils at 8pm on Saturday
Sunday night’s Rams Hitters vs Horsfords Ghetto Roots will certainly be the highlight game of week 1 of the SKABA 2010 Playoffs.
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