Since the New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) playoffs began earlier this month, several players have stepped up and elevated their games to new heights. However, no one has been as dominant as forward Gamaliel "Chameleon" Rose. Last year's finals' most valuable player (MVP) has elevated his game on both sides of the ball, and has one of the league's newest teams playing noteworthy basketball.
On Saturday night at the A.F. Adderley Gymnasium, Rose continued on his double-double binge. He canned 19 points and pulled down a whopping 25 rebounds to go along with six blocks as the Patron Regulators edged past the MailBoat Cybots 100-98, taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the Vince Ferguson divisional finals.
In the other NPBA semi-final series, the defending champions Commonwealth Bank Giants managed to bounce back against the PJ's Stingers, evening up that series at a game apiece. They won 104-93 in game two of the John Archer divisional final on Saturday night.
Regulators 100, Cybots 98
Rose was one of four Regulators who finished Saturday's game in double figures. Cruz Simon had 26 off the bench, Cordero Thompson had 21 and Carlos Thompson chipped in with 17. Ernest Saunders finished with 22 points and six rebounds in the loss for the Cybots. Eugene Bain scored 17, Brian Bain had 13 and Lerecus Armbrister added 11.
The Regulators' work on the glass allowed them to stay ahead in the tight game. They out-rebounded the Cybots 50-44 and converted on 12-second chance points, compared to just eight for the Cybots. The first two games in the series have been decided by a combined total of just three points, but the Regulators won both to take a commanding two games to none lead in the series.
In Friday's game, the Regulators topped the Cybots 90-89. Kenneth Pratt led the way for the Regulators with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Eugene Bain had 28 points and 11 rebounds in the loss for the Cybots.
New Providence Basketball Association
Semi-finals
Friday's results
Patron Regulators 90, MailBoat Cybots 89
Regulators - Kenneth Pratt (26 points)
Regulators - Cruz Simon (21 points)
Regulators - Gamaliel Rose (15 points)
Cybots - Eugene Bain (28 points)
Cybots - Ernest Saunders (18 points)
Cybots - Lerecus Armbrister (11 points)
Regulators lead best-of-five series 1-0.
PJ's Stingers 98, Commonwealth Bank Giants 95
Stingers - Batchlette Lafleur (23 points)
Stingers - Able Joseph (15 points)
Stingers - Ian Pinder (12 points)
Giants - Michael Bain Jr. (32 points)
Giants - Kevin Hinsey (14 points)
Giants - Mark Hanna (11 points)
Stingers lead best-of-five series 1-0.
Saturday's results
Commonwealth Bank Giants 103, PJ's Stingers 94
Giants - Michael Bain Jr. (29 points)
Giants - Kevin Hinsey (20 points)
Giants - Samuel Johnson (20 points)
Stingers - Able Joseph (24 points)
Stingers - Daniel Bullard (19 points)
Stingers - Devon Ferguson (16 points)
Best-of-five series ties 1-1.
Patron Regulators 100, MailBoat Cybots 98
Regulators - Cruz Simon (26 points)
Regulators - Cordero Thompson (21 points)
Regulators - Gamaliel Rose (19 points)
Cybots - Ernest Saunders (22 points)
Cybots - Eugene Bain (17 points)
Cybots - Angelo Lockhart (17 points)
Regulators lead best-of-five series 2-0.
Monday, March 23, 2015
7:30 p.m. - MailBoat Cybots vs. Patron Regulators
9:00 p.m. - Commonwealth Bank Giants vs. PJ's Stingers
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
7:30 p.m. - PJ's Stingers vs. Commonwealth Bank Giants
9:00 p.m. - Patron Regulators vs. MailBoat Cybots (if necessary)
Friday, March 27, 2015
7:30 p.m. - MailBoat Cybots vs. Patron Regulators (if necessary)
9:00 p.m. - Commonwealth Bank Giants vs. PJ's Stingers (if necessary)
Giants 104, Stingers 93
Michael Bain Jr. finished with 29 points to lead the Giants. Kevin Hinsey added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Mark Hanna chipped in with 20. Able Joseph was the Stingers top scorer with 24 points. Daniel Bullard added 19 and Devon Ferguson chipped in with 16 points.
The Stingers struggled from long range, finishing just 3-for-21 from behind the three-point line. They also left a significant amount of points at the charity stripe, making just 19 out of 40 free throws in the game. Despite forcing the Giants to commit 29 turnovers, the Stingers' poor shooting led to their demise.
The Giants managed to bounce back from Friday's 98-95 loss. Batchlette Lafleur finished that game with 23 points for the Stingers, while Bain had a game-high 32 in the loss for the Giants. Game three in both series are slated for tonight, with the first one starting at 7:30 p.m. The Cybots and the Regulators are scheduled to play the opener, and that will be followed by the Giants and the Stingers in the feature contest.
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