First-leg semi-finals today

Western Bureau:

The battle for supremacy in the 2011-12 Western Basketball Association (WBA) Division One League will reach an important juncture this afternoon when the four semi-finalists square off in first leg semi-final games in Montego Bay and Lucea.

Lucea's Flames, who topped the competition's preliminary-round standings, will host fourth-place Montego Bay Lions at the Watson Taylor Park in Lucea, at 4 p.m. while in the second game, second-place Montego Bay Cricket Club (MBCC) Knights will battle third-place Granville Wolfpack at the MBCC Courts, starting at 6 p.m.

The return games will be played at the MBCC Courts tomorrow afternoon with the matches slated for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. Knights will battle Wolfpack in the first game, while Flames will lock horns with Lions in the second.

"We are expecting two intriguing games," said Deon Williams, the competition coordinator. "All four teams are expressing confidence that they will win the championship, so we expect to see them at their best."

The semi-final line-up was completed on Sunday following the crucial rescheduled match-up between Wolfpack and Montego Bay Boys' Club Warriors at Montego Bay Cricket Club Courts. Wolfpack won the game 64-62.

Going into the game, both teams faced a most interesting scenario. While Wolfpack's win saw them advancing alongside Lions, had Warriors won the game, they would have advanced with Wolfpack, leaving the Lions out in the cold.

"Wolfpack did Lions a big favour by beating the Warriors," said Williams. "Lions and Warriors both ended their fixtures on an identical seven points, but Lions advanced by virtue of having beaten Warriors in their preliminary fixture."

In what was a keenly contested game, Wolfpack won the first quarter 19-11, but Warriors stormed back to take the second and third quarters by 20-12 and 23-17 margins. However, in the final quarter, Wolfpack won 16-8 to seal victory.

André Uter, with a game-high 29 points, and Daniel Malcolm, with 16 points, were the outstanding players for Wolfpack. Sheldon Lyle and Omroy Kerr, with 28 and 16 points, respectively, played well in Warriors' losing effort.

The two winners from the semi-finals will qualify for the competition's best-of-three finals, which will see the winners qualifying for the 2011-12 National Basketball League western Championship.

- A. F.