Street Fighters take MSA Sprite Basketball championship

Street Fighters lived up to their name when they took the inaugural Sprite Marriaqua Sports Association Basketball title last Sunday at the Richland Park Government School Hardcourt.

It took a period of extra time to separate them and Greggs Most Wanted in a match befitting of a final.{{more}}

Street Fighters had to claw back from a 20 point deficit to level the score and sent the match into an additional ten minutes. It took a moment of magic from Nikron Mercury who hit two consecutive three pointers with 45 seconds remaining in the match to keep Street Fighters in contention for stardom.

At the end of regulation time the score read 81-81, sending the match into extra time.

With support from both camps, the players gave no quarters and asked for none.

But Street Fighters kept the nerve and rallied to a 95-91 triumph, with Artneil Barker leading the score sheet with 25 points and Mercury 18. Mercury was named the Player of the final.

However, it was Robert Williams of Greggs Most Wanted who was the high hand in the match. He sank 30 points. Williams was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Emotions that ran throughout the match could not be bottled up as players of the losing finalist Greggs Most Wanted wept openly at their lost.

CWSA Sion Hill took the third spot. Eight teams contested the tournament, which from the positive response is expected to be a permanent fixture on the calendar of events of the Marriaqua Sports Association.