The Lakers are back in the finals of the New Breed Basketball Association (NBBA) after defeating the Chosen Ones 79-75 Saturday night before a near-capacity crowd at the Educational Complex gym.
It was the second year in a row that the Lakers have eliminated the Chosen Ones, who finished the regular season with an unblemished record. But the Lakers had to fight tooth and nail to pull this one out, and did not get their first lead until late in the fourth quarter.
As has been the case in most of their games, the Chosen Ones charged out of the gates in the first quarter, leading by as many as 13 points before a late run by the Lakers brought them within six points of the lead at 21-15. Andy Chelcher sparked the Chosen Ones’ early lead with nine points in the period.
The Lakers were much better offensively in the second quarter, but the Chosen Ones, displaying a balanced attack, were just a little bit better as they outscored their opponents 24-22 to lead by eight at intermission, 45-37.
The Lakers began their run to the finals in the third quarter with a much higher defensive intensity. They got seven points from Robert Duck on their way to 19 third-quarter points, while holding the Chosen Ones to just 13. They were now within two points of the lead at 58-56 heading into the series-deciding fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was a memorable one for both players and fans, who stood cheering their respective teams for almost the entire quarter. Play was intense, with the Chosen Ones just managing to retain their advantage most of the way. The lead would exchange hands as the clock wound down on a couple of occasions, but was tied at 75 with less than 13 seconds left on the game clock.
Then the Lakers Jerome “Ives” Nathaniel attacked the basket with a strong drive and scored what turned out to be the game-winning points as his team now led 77-75 with about nine seconds left. After a failed attempt by the Chosen Ones to tie the game, they had to commit a foul quickly in an attempt to lengthen the game. Stepping to the line with five seconds on the clock to shoot two free throws was Rashawn Williams, who had had a rough time at the line earlier in the game.
However, with a chance to put the game out of reach, he calmly converted the two points to give his team an insurmountable four-point edge at 79-75. A mad dash up the sidelines by the Chosen Ones’ Glenroy Coggin resulted in a turnover that ended the game.
“Our game plan tonight, as usual, was to dump the ball inside to our big men to take advantage of our size advantage, and in the end it worked out for us,” said an elated Calvin Burke, the Lakers coach. The Lakers now advance to meet the defending champions in the finals beginning on Monday.
Duck led four Lakers in double figures with a game-high 24 points. Nathaniel and Lloyd Gilbert both netted 12, and Williams had 10. For the Chosen Ones, Wilson Ferrance and Clint Williams netted 14 points and Chelcher finished with 12.
