The New Breed Basketball Association defending champions, Guidance, sent a strong message to the rest of the league Friday, letting everyone know that they are still the team to beat by dismantling a good Alliance squad by 22 points, 92-70.
Guidance, with some noticeable new faces, played like a well-oiled machine, while Alliance played in disarray, way below the levels local basketball fans are accustomed to seeing from them. Much of their many turnovers were from them just being careless with the ball, but the defensive scheme utilized by Coach Donald Bough also contributed to Alliance’s woes.
Another big problem for Alliance however was Guidance center A.Q. St. Hill. They had no answer for him on the offensive end, and on defense he dominated the paint, blocking six shots and altering countless others.
Guidance came out in the first quarter as if on a mission. The speed of their play appeared to have caught Alliance by surprise and by halftime they were already looking at a 20-point deficit at 44-24.
Things would not get any better for Alliance in the third quarter, as Guidance was able to outscore them, 23-17, extending their lead to 26 at 67-41 after three quarters. With such a sizable lead, Bough was able to substitute his deep bench at will without much of a drop in production.
Alliance did manage their best offensive output in the fourth quarter, outscoring Guidance 29-24, but it was too little too late, and by then Bough had called off the dogs with Hill sitting for most of the final period.
Hill led five Guidance players in double figures with 22 points and a game-high six blocks. He got good support from Joelfry Polanco with 15, Jose Santos and Eric with 14 apiece and Raydell Dennis with 12. For Alliance Warren Christian knocked down a game-high 24 point, and Charles Sealey finished with 14.
In the early game Boys Dem, as expected, blew out Ujima, 71-34, to remain one of three undefeated teams in the league. Nine players on the Boys Dem bench got into the scoring column led by 18 points from Wilson Ferrance and 10 from Salim Ross. Shane Hodge finished with 11 points for Ujima.
