Southside chase Clippers; NCA, Spartans battle for fourth

As the second round in the inaugural Electrical Industries Group Elite Basketball League (EBL) season wraps up in Maloney on Wednesday night, October 28, the second-placed Southside Elite (8-1) and the cellar-placed Morvant Oilbirds (1-8) will go into their midweek duel without some heavy-hitters. The teams will tip off the first game of a double-header from 7.30 pm at the Maloney Indoor Sporting Complex, with at least three key players set to miss out. From 9 pm, NCA Warriors and Spartans TT will lock horns.

Due to upcoming international duty with Trinidad and Tobago's 3x3 team in the FIBA AmeriCup, Southside will be missing the pair of centre Jelani “The Tank” Valley and captain Tyrik Singh, while the Oilbirds will be without Tyrese Fields, who currently ranks third in the league for three-pointers made. With Fields momentarily taking his 15.4 points per game scoring average abroad, Oilbirds coach Shaka Dwayne Brewster will be pleased to see the return of All-Star Obel Guerra, who was suspended for the team's 100-72 loss to Caledonia Clippers (9-1) on October 21. As the league's second-best scorer at 23 points per game, Guerra's presence should compensate for Fields' absence, although the latter's unique threat from three-point range cannot be understated.

Rebounding battle

While Guerra has been the go-to man offensively for the Oilbirds, his activity in the post can also be key for this match-up, with Southside missing their lethal rebounding pair of Valley and Singh. The trio of Guerra, Singh and Valley all average nine or more rebounds per game, with Valley's overall haul of 95 rebounds only being bettered by the Clippers' Miguel Williams (97 rebounds). In Southside's impressive 104-84 comeback win over Police on Saturday, Valley put on a clinic with 24 points and 18 rebounds (seven offensive), as he dominated his match-ups with players such as Samuel Waldron and All-Star Jesse Hamilton, en route to a sixth double-double of the season. With no Valley or Singh present to clean up the glass, Southside coach Melissa Guerero is likely to look to big man Jerrell Doorbal to pick up the slack in the post. Though Doorbal has featured sparingly this season, he did have a statement game against NCA Warriors on October 2, when he recorded 12 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks in a tight 81-77 win.

Expect ‘Fato’ to bring the heat again

With Singh and Valley's post presence being a noteworthy miss, expect Southside to lean on the expertise of recently crowned three-point champion Ahkeem “Fato” Boyd, who scored 26 points against the TTPS, hitting six threes in the process. With star guard Jason Friday's status uncertain, Boyd could well be given a green light – though he never needs it – to let fly in his hometown of Maloney. On the weekend, Police made the mistake of playing a zone defence which often left Boyd open on the perimeter, a defensive assignment the Oilbirds can surely ill-afford to foul up if they are to register a second win of the season. Other backcourt options available to Guerero are the pair of Clint Graham and newcomer Jelani Blackett, who scored five points in his EBL debut on Saturday. Meanwhile, Graham had a terrific game off the bench with 14 points and six rebounds, cutting to the rim on countless occasions to add icing to a Southside offence which was led by Friday's fluent play. Friday tallied 22 points and 11 assists, while adding eight rebounds and four steals.

Oilbirds’ new blood look to make impact

Needing to get momentum if they are to have any chance of making it to the Big 4 playoffs, the Oilbirds will hope new signings such as Kushaiah King and Dexter Morien can find their rhythm against the league's second-best defensive team. Both men debuted against the Clippers on October 21, with King having a solid enough game with 11 points, four assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Morien and another debutant, Esan Babb, scored nine and seven points, respectively. With King known for his ability to score in the open court, he can provide a one-two punch with Guerra as the Oilbirds look to improve a scoring average which stands at just 75.4 points per game. The first-round meeting between the teams was a low-scoring affair, with Southside getting a 79-69 win, thanks to Boyd's 28 points and a Valley double-double (15 points, 18 rebounds). Guerra tallied 19 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks in a losing effort.

NCA, Spartans continue battle for fourth

In the second game in Maloney, the two youngest EBL teams will square off when the fifth-placed NCA (2-7) take on the fourth-placed Spartans TT (3-6). The teams are coming off contrasting losses, as NCA lost 73-70 to Police on October 21, while the Spartans lost 88-64 to the Clippers on Saturday, in a game which saw them struggling to find any offensive fluency.

For the Spartans, their key men will be dunk champion William Francis, who averages 20.3 points per game, Zachary Julien, who leads the league in steals, and Freedom Leon, who averages 13.4 points per game, to go along with 5.9 rebounds per game. Francis' offensive output will be key for the Spartans, as the Fatima College star has been held under 20 points in consecutive games after his breakout 41-point display against the Oilbirds on October 4.

In the NCA camp, coach Kern George has a task on his hands, as he tries to shake off a close loss to Police, while juggling the playing time of his key players. NCA utilised the mid-season trade window to bring in as many as four players, with all featuring heavily in last week's loss to the TTPS. The pair of Amari Scott and Nicholas Strawter scored 11 and nine points, respectively on debut, with St Lucian big man Rayquan Francis making his presence felt with a stat line of seven points, 11 rebounds, four blocks, and four steals. While NCA try to work in their new pieces, their leading scorer JJ Edwards-Caracciolo (16.1 points per game) is still expected to be a key threat, while three-point specialist Josiah “Sticks” John-Andrew (11.4 points per game) will aim to bounce back from a scoreless showing against the lawmen.

With the Spartans and NCA giving up 87 and 83.2 points per game respectively, the EBL neutrals will hope a high-scoring game is on the cards. In the round-one meeting between the clubs in August, the Spartans earned a 92-73 win in a fast-paced game which saw over 60 turnovers spread across the teams. Francis and dunk-off runner-up Michael McCarthy scored 17 points apiece to lead the Spartans, while Edwards-Caracciolo led NCA with 23 points, to go with five steals. Both coaches will want to see far fewer turnovers this time around, while pushing for a win which can improve their playoff chances.

Now that we've crunched all the numbers, it's time for the basketball action to bring an end to round two in the EBL.