Boyd lays down the law, says Clippers will win the EBL title

Electrical Industries Group Elite Basketball League (EBL) All-Star game MVP Ahkeel "Smally" Boyd has sent a clear warning to the rest of the league, making it clear that his Caledonia Clippers team will go all the way and clinch the league's $100,000 first-place prize.

Boyd had a record night at the Maloney Indoor Sports Complex on Wednesday, guiding the league-leading Caledonia Clippers (8-1) to a big 100-72 win over the cellar-placed Morvant Oilbirds (1-8). In the blowout, Boyd recorded an EBL-high 47 points on 15-of-26 shooting, knocking down a league-record 11 threes in the process. Speaking to EBL media after his team's 28-point win, Boyd said the league should take notice, particularly with his team's mid-season acquisitions of Kern Alexis and Leshaun Alfred.

"To me, we have the best team in the competition because we have experienced players and youths as well. A lot of people take that as we're not going to win the championship, but we are," a confident Boyd said. "And I'm sending this message to the league. We are going to win the championship."

The Clippers are currently on a seven-game winning streak, with Boyd and veteran Adrian Joseph being the major catalysts for the team's success. Boyd has taken his scoring average to 35 points per game, while he now averages five made threes a game. Joseph rounds out the top five in scoring in the league at 18.3 points per game, while he's third among the league's leading three-point shooters.

With Boyd and Joseph providing firepower for the Clippers on the perimeter, Alexis and Alfred look set to bolster the team's interior presence alongside the league's leading rebounder, Miguel Williams.

"Leshaun is a guy who can play with anybody. (Kern) as well, he can play with anybody. I played with those guys in Maloney Pacers and they can fit in with any team," Boyd said, of his team's latest additions.

Even with minimal minutes, the Clippers debutants showed their capabilities early on, as Alexis hauled in eight rebounds, to go along with three blocks and his six points, while Alfred had nine rebounds and two blocks, to go with seven points.

Boyd's 47-point spectacle saw him upstaging Spartans TT's William Francis, who previously held the EBL's single-game scoring record with a 41-point showing against the Oilbirds on October 4. With Francis going on record to say he should be second in the MVP running behind Boyd, the stage is set for a colossal showdown when the Clippers face the Spartans (3-5) from 8.30 pm in Maloney on Saturday.

In the first game of tomorrow's double-header from 7 pm, the third-placed Police (5-4) will play the second-placed Southside Elite (7-1) as the teams renew a rivalry, which also sees them currently battling for supremacy in the South Zone final.